Airway management in croup and epiglottitis

Treatment techniques for airway obstruction in croup and epiglottitis are reviewed in the medical literature. Series totaling 295 nasotracheal intubations, and 591 tracheostomies were reviewed. There were two deaths attributable to airway complications in 126 patients in whom nasotracheal intubation was carried out. In three patients subglottic granulation tissue and subglottic stenoses developed from short-term nasotracheal intubation. There were no subglottic stenoses or tracheal stenoses reported in the 591 tracheostomies. From this review, it would seem feasible to use nasotracheal intubation for short-term airway treatment in croup and epiglottitis. The increasing occurrence of laryngeal and tracheal complications with long-term intubation suggests that tracheostomy be considered in such cases.