Subglottic stenosis in pregnancy

A Scholz1, K Srinivas, M R W Stacey

  • 1Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XW, UK. anette.scholz@doctors.org.uk

Subglottic stenosis (SGS) in pregnancy is rare but may cause a potentially life-threatening delivery and is a challenge to the anaesthetist and the obstetrician. Clinical signs of SGS may not be obvious and the diagnosis can be difficult. Patients usually present with shortness of breath rather than stridor. Many patients have been wrongly diagnosed with asthma and recurrent bronchitis before subsequent discovery of a SGS. Early diagnosis of SGS and multidisciplinary input is important in managing these patients. We present a case of a pregnant woman with a history of Wegener's granulomatosis and the successful multidisciplinary management of her SGS.

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