Epiglottis acuta treated with nasotracheal intubation

Twenty children, ranging in age from 1--9 years, and one adult suffering from epiglottis acuta were treated with nasotracheal intubation performed under general anaesthesia and with ampicillin. Clinical cure was obtained in all cases with a mean intubation time of 34 hours. The diagnosis, epiglottis acuta, was suspected by the referring physician in 10 cases. The incidence of epiglottis acuta compared to laryngitis acuta was found to be 1:30. The mean hospital stay was 5.4 days. It is concluded that treatment of acute epiglottis by nasotracheal intubation in the hands of experienced anaesthesiologists and with close observation in an intesnive care unit, is a safe method of management with negligible morbidity and mortality.