Clinical and bacteriological influence of diabetes mellitus on deep neck infection: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus has been recognized as the most common systemic disease associated with deep neck infection. We report the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the influence of diabetes on clinical and bacteriological characteristics of deep neck infection.

METHODS: Articles were retrieved from PubMed, EMBASE, and the Japan Medical Abstracts Society database. A critical review of 227 studies identified 20 studies eligible for quantitative synthesis.

RESULTS: Diabetes was associated with higher prevalences of multispace spread of infection, complications, and failure to identify pathogenesis, with risk ratios (RRs) of 1.96, 2.42, and 1.29, respectively. Bacteriologically, patients with diabetes showed a higher prevalence of culture identification of Klebsiella pneumoniae (RR, 3.28), and lower prevalences of Streptococcus spp. (RR, 0.57) and anaerobes (RR, 0.54).

CONCLUSION: Deep neck infection with diabetes differs from that without in several clinical aspects. Again, bacteriological differences imply that diabetic infections might be populated by different bacterial flora.