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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Luke Rusowicz-Orazem, B.S.
Croup must be differentiated from other upper respiratory diseases and conditions that cause airway obstruction around the larynx, as well as those that present similar symptoms to influenza.
Croup must be differentiated from other upper respiratory diseases and conditions that cause airway obstruction around the larynx:[1][2]
The tables below summarize the differences between croup and other upper respiratory conditions with similar symptoms:
Disease | Findings |
---|---|
Epiglottitis | Typically presents with fever, difficulty swallowing, dysphonia, drooling, and stridor. Can rapidly progress to include cyanosis and asphyxiation and is much more severe than croup; it is often an emergency requiring intubation.[3] |
Subglottic stenosis | Presents with stridor and difficulty breathing; can be a life-threatening emergency requiring intubation to remove the airway obstruction.[4] |
Bacterial tracheitis | Presents with barking cough, stridor, fever, chest pain, ear pain, difficulty breathing, headache, dizziness. Symptoms, particularly fever, are more severe than croup. Requires antibiotic treatment.[5] |
Retropharyngeal abscess | Presents with neck pain, stiff neck, torticollis and may include enlarged cervical lymph nodes, fever, malaise, stridor, and barking cough. Requires tonsillectomy and use of antibiotics.[6] |
Angioneurotic edema | Presents with swelling of the dermis, subcutaneous, mucosa and submucosal tissues. Can occur in the upper respiratory system and result in stridor and respiratory arrest, requiring emergency treatment. Acquired angioneurotic edema results from an allergic reaction and be treated with epinephrine.[7] |
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. [8] |
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,[9] | Polymicrobial infection. Mostly; Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and respiratory anaerobes (example; Fusobacteria, Prevotella, and Veillonella species)[10][11][12][13][14][15] | Congenital, trauma | |
Physical exams findings | Suprasternal and intercostal indrawing,[16] Inspiratory stridor[17], expiratory wheezing,[17] Sternal wall retractions[18] | Cyanosis, Cervical lymphadenopathy, Inflammed epiglottis | Inflammed pharynx with or without exudate | Subglottic narrowing with purulent secretions in the trachea[19][20] | Fever, especially 100°F or higher.[21][22]Erythema, edema and Exudate of the tonsils.[23] cervical lymphadenopathy, Dysphonia.[24] | 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. [8] | |
Age commonly affected | Mainly 6 months and 3 years old
rarely, adolescents and adults[25] |
Used to be mostly found in
pediatric age group between 3 to 5 years, however, recent trend favors adults as most commonly affected individuals[26] 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.[27] |
Mostly during the first six years of life | Primarily affects children
between 5 and 15 years old.[28] |
Mostly between 2-4 years, but can occur in other age groups.[6][29] | May be congenital congenital or acquired. Mean age in acquired is 54.1 years[30] | |
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.[31][32][33] | On CT scan, a mass impinging on the posterior pharyngeal wall with rim enhancement is seen[34][35] | Bronchoscopy reveals subglottic stenosis. Computed tomography may reveal a concentric stenotic tracheal segment.[36] | |
Treatment | Dexamethasone and nebulised epinephrine | Airway maintenance, parenteral Cefotaxime or Ceftriaxone in combination with Vancomycin. Adjuvant therapy includes corticosteroids and racemic Epinephrine.[37][38] | 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,[39] glucocorticoid injections, and resection.[40] |