Do anti-inflammatory drugs worsen odontogenic cervico-facial cellulitis?

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this prospective study was to determine the influence of anti-inflammatory drugs on the severity of odontogenic cellulitis in patients admitted to our hospital emergency unit.

Study design: The study was made from April 30 to October 31 2006. The clinical and pharmacological data was prospectively collected at admission, during hospitalization, and during systematic follow-up. We first studied the whole population and then compared the 2 groups: patients having received anti-inflammatory drugs before admission or not.

Results: Two hundred and sixty-seven patients were included. The only severity criterion significantly different between the 2 groups was spreading of cervical lymphangitis (P=0.028). None of the 4 studied parameters was identified as a risk factor for spreading of cervical lymphangitis in multivariate analysis: anti-inflammatory use (OR=5.99, 95%CI [0.71-50.88]), alcohol abuse (OR=4.00, 95%CI [0.66-24.12]), dental hygiene (OR=1.53, 95%CI [0.36-6.56]), and tobacco use (OR=0.27, 95%CI [0.57-1.28]).

Discussion: The use of anti-inflammatory drugs during the initial phase of an odontogenic infection was not related to the severity of infection.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatoires; Anti-inflammatory agent; Cellulite; Cellulitis; Infection.