Obstruction in the Pedriatic Airway: diagnostic and therapeutic aspects

Abstract

Pediatric Laryngology in a referral hospital for children such as the Sophia Children's Hospital is to a large extent concerned with patients suffering from airway obstruction, most of whom, owing to the nature of the disorder, are treated in an Intensive Care Unit (lCU). The otorhinolaryngologist, in close cooperation with ICU-pediatricians, is confronted with a great variety of airway pathology: intubation or tracheotomy related problems, post-intubation injury, cicatricial laryngeal stenosis, congenital laryngeal stenosis, subglottic hemangioma, choanal atresia, pharyngeal obstruction, epiglottitis, subglottic laryngitis, tracheomalacia, etc. Laryngobronchoscopy (LBS) is the most important tool in the diagnosis of such disorders in children