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Subglottic stenosis is a congenital or acquired narrowing of the subglottic airway. Although it is relatively rare, it is the third most common congenital airway problem (after laryngomalacia and vocal cord paralysis). Subglottic stenosis can present as a life-threatening airway emergency. It is imperative that the Otolaryngologist be an expert at dealing with the diagnosis and management of this disorder. Subglottic stenosis can affect both children and adults.
Subglottic stenosis can be of two forms, namely Congenital subglottic stenosis and Acquired Subglottic stenosis.
As the name suggests, Congenital subglottic stenosis is a birth defect. That is a child is born with it. Acquired Subglottic Stenosis generally follows as an after-effect of airway intubation.
Subglottic stenosis are graded from one to four based on the severity of the block.
Grade 1 - <50% obstruction, Grade 2 - 51-70% obstruction, Grade 3 - 71-99% obstruction, Grade 4 - no detectable lumen.
The table below outlines the differences between subglottic stenosis and other diseases.
| Variable | Croup | Epiglottitis | Pharyngitis | Bacterial tracheitis | Tonsilitis | Retropharyngeal abscess | Subglottic stenosis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation | Cough | ✔ | — | Sore throat, pain on swallowing, fever, headache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting | Barking cough, stridor, | Sore throat, pain on swallowing, fever, headache, cough | Neck pain, stiff neck, torticollis | Depends on severity. May have respiratory distress at birth, exercise-induced dyspnea, intermittent wheezing. Inspiratory stridor. [1] |
| Stridor | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| Drooling | — | ✔ | ||||||
| Others are Hoarseness, Difficulty breathing, symptoms of the common cold, Runny nose, Fever | Other symptoms include difficulty breathing, fever, chills, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness of voice | |||||||
| Causes | Parainfluenza virus | H. influenza type b, beta-hemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, fungi and viruses. | Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. | Staphylococcus aureus | Most common cause is viral including adenovirus, rhinovirus, influenza, coronavirus, and respiratory syncytial virus. Second most common causes are bacterial; Group A streptococcal bacteria,[2] | Polymicrobial infection. Mostly; Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and respiratory anaerobes (example; Fusobacteria, Prevotella, and Veillonella species)[3][4][5][6][7][8] | Congenital, trauma | |
| Physical exams findings | Suprasternal and intercostal indrawing,[9] Inspiratory stridor[10], expiratory wheezing,[10] Sternal wall retractions[11] | Cyanosis, Cervical lymphadenopathy, Inflammed epiglottis | Inflammed pharynx with or without exudate | Subglottic narrowing with purulent secretions in the trachea[12][13] | Fever, especially 100°F or higher.[14][15]Erythema, edema and Exudate of the tonsils.[16] cervical lymphadenopathy, Dysphonia.[17] | Child may be unable to open the mouth widely. May have enlarged
cervical lymph nodes and neck mass. |
Signs of respiratory distress, intermittent wheezing. Inspiratory stridor. [1] | |
| Age commonly affected | Mainly 6 months and 3 years old
rarely, adolescents and adults[18] |
Used to be mostly found in
pediatric age group between 3 to 5 years, however, recent trend favors adults as most commonly affected individuals[19] with a mean age of 44.94 years. |
Mostly in children and young adults,
with 50% of cases identified between the ages of 5 to 24 years.[20] |
Mostly during the first six years of life | Primarily affects children
between 5 and 15 years old.[21] |
Mostly between 2-4 years, but can occur in other age groups.[22][23] | May be congenital congenital or acquired. Mean age in acquired is 54.1 years[24] | |
| Imaging finding | Steeple sign on neck X-ray | Thumbprint sign on neck x-ray | — | Lateral neck xray shows intraluminal membranes and tracheal wall irregularity. | Intraoral or transcutaneous USG may show an abscess making CT scan unnecessary.[25][26][27] | On CT scan, a mass impinging on the posterior pharyngeal wall with rim enhancement is seen[28][29] | Bronchoscopy reveals subglottic stenosis. Computed tomography may reveal a concentric stenotic tracheal segment.[30] | |
| Treatment | Dexamethasone and nebulised epinephrine | Airway maintenance, parenteral Cefotaxime or Ceftriaxone in combination with Vancomycin. Adjuvant therapy includes corticosteroids and racemic Epinephrine.[31][32] | Antimicrobial therapy mainly penicillin-based and analgesics. | Airway maintenance and antibiotics | Antimicrobial therapy mainly penicillin-based and analgesics with tonsilectomy in selected cases. | Immediate surgical drainage and antimicrobial therapy. emperic therapy involves; ampicillin-sulbactam or clindamycin. | Endoscopic balloon dilation for patients with low-grade subglottic stenosis,[33] glucocorticoid injections, and resection.[34] | |