gms | German Medical Science

88th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

24.05. - 27.05.2017, Erfurt

Surgical treatment or watchful waiting for infants and toddlers with congenital stridor

Meeting Abstract

  • corresponding author Teresa Buitrago García - Medical University - Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
  • Nikolay Sapundzhiev - Medical University - Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
  • Eleonora Zheleva - Medical University - Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
  • Violeta Iotova - Medical University - Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
  • Vilian Platikanov - Medical University - Varna, Varna, Bulgaria

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. 88. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. Erfurt, 24.-27.05.2017. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2017. Doc17hno462

doi: 10.3205/17hno462, urn:nbn:de:0183-17hno4627

Published: April 13, 2017

© 2017 Buitrago García et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

Text

Introduction: Stridor in neonates and toddlers is a common symptom to raise concern among parents and physicians. Usually, the standard approach is watchful waiting based on the expectation of self-limiting laryngomalacia. However, diagnostic microlaryngobronchoscopy (MLB) may reveal various pathology, which may require surgical treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records and video documentation of endoscopies of all patients below the age of 2 years, who presented with noisy breathing as their chief complaint and subsequently underwent MLB between 2010 and 2016.

Results: Eighteen patients - 13 (72.2%) males, 5 (27.7%) females, mean age 4.0±5.4 months, range 1 day to 1.78 years - were subjected to MLB for stridorous breathing. The most common cause of stridor was laryngomalacia, observed in 8 (44.4%) of the patients, followed by vocal cord paralysis in 2 (11.1%). One (5.5%) patient had hyperplastic tonsils, 1 (5.5%) had tracheal stenosis, 1 (5.5%) subglottic hemangioma, 1 (5.5%) vallecular cyst, and 1 (5.5%) an aberrant interarytenoid mucosal fold. In 2 (11.1%) occasions, the stridor was due to macroglossia combined with either microretrognathia or choanal atresia. Just 1 (5.5%) of the endoscopies was inconclusive. A total of 8 patients (44.4%) followed surgical treatment: 4 (50%) of the children with laryngomalacia required supraglottoplasty and 4 (40%) of the other children required other surgical interventions of the upper airways.

Conclusions: Our results show an important proportion of upper airway conditions, which require a surgical intervention in stridorous infants. Watchful waiting can not be advocated in such children before evaluating them with MLB.

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