Abstract
Acute epiglottitis is often accompanied by dyspnea which occasionally call for an emergency tracheotomy or intubation. This study reviewed 40 patients with acute epiglottitis who were treated in our clinic for the recent 10 years.
The average age of the patients was 40 years and most of them were smokers. A traumatic lesion of the epiglottis was thought to be the cause in 8 patients. All 40 patients had sore throat, and 15 of the 40 patients complained of dyspnea. Four of the 15 dyspnea patients required emergency airway maintenance and one of the four died of the airway compromise. Swelling of the epiglottis frequently extended to the aryepiglottic fold but the vocal cord and oropharynx were not involved. Antibiotics and steroid were employed for the treatment.
The results indicate that micro-injuries can cause acute epiglottitis, and that chronic irritation by smoking might be a predisposing factor. Acute epiglottitis can be successfully treated with medication in most cases. It should be, however, kept in mind that acute epiglottitis sometimes causes a fatal dyspnea.
