Acute Upper Airway Obstruction in Infants and Children

All infants and children seen by the pediatric pulmonary service who display symptoms of upper airway obstruction undergo transnasal fiberoptic evaluation with the 3.2 mm flexible instrument. The procedure enables the observer to immediately visualize the nasopharynx, supraglottic, glottic and subglottic structures. Instrumentation is done in the sitting upright position and takes the skilled observer about 20 seconds to perform. The differentiation of epiglottitis from subglottic croup, foreign body aspiration and other less common causes of airway obstruction is easily performed and well tolerated. The fiberoptic instrument is often utilized both as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. It can be utilized to intubate cases of epiglottitis and to evaluate the epiglottis to determine the appropriate time for extubation. This procedure is superior to oral airway examination because it does not distort airway anatomy, can be performed in the upright position, and does not further exacerbate airway obstruction.