A 67-year-old man with odynophagia and neck pain

Fenn, DJ PA-C; Howard, Brittany MD; Hoxworth, Joseph MD; Sommers, Annjanette PA-C

DJ Fenn practices emergency medicine in Mesa, Ariz. At the time this article was written, he was a postgraduate fellow in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix, Ariz. Brittany Howard is a Mayo Clinic Scholar and Joseph Hoxworth practices neuroradiology and is an assistant professor of radiology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona. Annjanette Sommers is an associate professor at Pacific University in Hillsboro, Ore. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge Tony Mendez, PA-C, Carrlene Donald, PA-C, and the faculty at Mayo Clinic for their assistance with this manuscript.

Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants 31(4):p 24-26, April 2018. | DOI: 10.1097/01.JAA.0000530291.06247.eb

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Abstract

Acute calcific longus colli tendinitis is a benign and self-limiting inflammatory disease that rarely requires aggressive intervention. However, clinicians may be unfamiliar with this condition, and it can easily be misdiagnosed for a deep neck abscess or tumor resulting in unnecessary and invasive procedures. This article describes a patient who presented to the ED with progressive odynophagia and neck pain.