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Published on: January 17, 2011

Life-threatening airway obstruction secondary to mass in children-a preventable event?

Josef Ben-Ari1, Tommy Schonfeld, Efrat Harlev

  • 1Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tiqva and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. jbenari@post.tau.ac.il

Pediatric Emergency Care
|July 20, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Children with large mediastinal masses can experience life-threatening airway obstruction, often requiring emergency intervention. Early recognition and preparedness are crucial for managing these pediatric respiratory emergencies.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric critical care medicine
  • Thoracic surgery
  • Pediatric pulmonology

Background:

  • Mediastinal masses in children can present with severe airway obstruction.
  • Prompt diagnosis and management are critical for favorable outcomes.

Observation:

  • Eight pediatric patients experienced 12 life-threatening airway events due to mediastinal masses.
  • Events included pre-hospital cardiorespiratory resuscitation and emergency intubation.
  • Diagnosis was often delayed, with a median of 8.5 days from symptom onset to diagnosis.

Findings:

  • Severe airway obstruction is a significant risk in children with mediastinal masses.
  • Cardiorespiratory resuscitation was required in 5 patients.
  • Delayed diagnosis and intervention increased the severity of respiratory compromise.

Implications:

  • Physician awareness of the potential for airway compromise is essential.
  • Multidisciplinary preparedness for respiratory complications in pediatric mediastinal masses is vital.
  • Timely diagnosis and intervention can improve patient outcomes.
Abstract

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