Abstract
Fifteen cases (eleven males, four females) of acute epiglottitis were reported in this study, All cases were adults with the age ranged from 21 years old to 57 years old. The incidence of various clinical symptoms were as follows; 100% in sore throat, 73.3% in dysphagia, 33.3% in dyspnea, 26.7% in pyrexia and 13.3% in hoarseness. The lateral view of X-ray photograph of the larynx showed the marked swelling of the epiglottis only in 3 cases out of 15. The aerobic cultures from pharynx, epiglottis and blood did not show any growth of Haemophilus influenzae in all cases which was considered to be the causative bacteria of acute epiglottitis. Fourteen cases recovered by the intravenous administration of large amount of antibiotics, but one case needed emergency tracheotomy. All cases recovered without eventful complications. Acute epiglottitis had been considered as an emergency disease in the childhood because of the high incidence of severe dyspnea with the rapid progression. However, this study showed that acute epiglottitis could be the emergency disease even in adults, but not only in children. The swelling of the epiglottis should be checked by indirect laryngoscopy or laryngofiberscopy and the X-ray films of the larynx is only the supplemental tool for the diagnosis of acute epiglottitis.
