Skip to main content
Canadian Family Physician logoLink to Canadian Family Physician
. 1985 May;31:1051–1053.

Differential Diagnosis of Upper Airway Disease in Children

Howard L Rudner
PMCID: PMC2327821  PMID: 21274153

Abstract

Upper airway disease in childhood is very common and can be life-threatening. It is important to differentiate between the various causes of airway obstruction in children. A croupy cough can signal acute laryngotracheobronchitis (croup), acute epiglottitis, or aspiration of a foreign body. The problem must be quickly and accurately diagnosed, followed by appropriate management and careful monitoring. Morbidity and mortality can be high in certain instances. Therefore, the physician must know the indications for hospitalization.

Keywords: Diagnosis, upper airway disease, children

Full text

PDF
1051

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bass J. W., Steele R. W., Wiebe R. A. Acute epiglottitis. A surgical emergency. JAMA. 1974 Aug 5;229(6):671–675. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Denny F. W., Murphy T. F., Clyde W. A., Jr, Collier A. M., Henderson F. W. Croup: an 11-year study in a pediatric practice. Pediatrics. 1983 Jun;71(6):871–876. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Levison H., Tabachnik E., Newth C. J. Wheezing in infancy, croup, and epiglottitis. Curr Probl Pediatr. 1982 Jan;12(3):1–65. doi: 10.1016/0045-9380(82)90012-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Liston S. L., Gehrz R. C., Jarvis C. W. Bacterial tracheitis. Arch Otolaryngol. 1981 Sep;107(9):561–564. doi: 10.1001/archotol.1981.00790450037012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Selbst S. M. Epiglottitis: a review of 13 cases and a suggested protocol for management. J Fam Pract. 1984 Sep;19(3):333–337. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Family Physician are provided here courtesy of College of Family Physicians of Canada

RESOURCES