Journal of Clinical Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
The Busan, Ulsan, Gyeoungnam Branch of Korean Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
원저

급성 후두개염의 임상적 고찰

김동환1, 황준영1, 남규준1, 한규철1, 김상현1, 정덕희1
Dong Whan Kim1, June Yung Hwang1, Gyu June Nam1, Gyu Cheol Han1, Sang Hyun Kim1, Duk Hee Chung1
1국립의료원 이비인후과
1Department of Otolaryngology, National Medical Center

© Copyright 1993 The Busan, Ulsan, Gyeoungnam Branch of Korean Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: May 31, 2020

ABSTRACT

Acute epiglottitis in the adult is an infrequent infection in relation to the condition in children but incidence has risen recently. It may progress respiratory obstruction rapidly if a proper management is not given at early stage of disease. Epiglottitis is characterized by its sudden onset, high temperature, severe dysphagia, drooling saliva and respiratory distress. So, initial diagnosis and management are very important to avoid a possible life-threatening complications.

The authors have experienced 26 cases of acute epiglottitis for recent 5 years and analysed the clinical findings and treatment.

The results were follows;

  1. The age of patients were ranged from 7 months old to 69 years old(Median age : 41 years old). Among the 26 cases, 17 cases were in male and 9 cases were in female.

  2. Seasonal variation was the greatest frequency in autumn.

  3. Common clinical manifestations were sore throat, dysphagia, fever and chilling sense, dyspnea and muffled voice.

  4. Hospitalization period was more than 7 days in all cases. The median duration of hospitalization was 7.3 days for the 9 antibiotics treated patients, 10.5 days for the 12 steroid and antibiotics treated patients and 13.1 days for the 5 patients who were underwent tracheotomy with steroid and antibiotics.

  5. The white cell counts were not related to the seriousness of disease, but CRP was indicator for recovery, of disease.

  6. Intravenous ampicillin was the most frequently used drug.

  7. In 5 patients an emergency tracheotomy was performed for management of airway.

  8. There were several underlying disease in 14 cases, most of the cases were diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: Epiglottitis; Respiratory Obstruction