Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

    Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009 Apr;140(4):548-51.

    Airway management in pediatric epiglottitis: a national perspective.

    Acevedo JL, Lander L, Choi S, Shah RK.

    Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, National Capitol Consortium, Washington, DC, USA. jasag00@yahoo.com

    OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe current demographics and resource utilization in the treatment of pediatric epiglottitis. STUDY DESIGN: Case series from a national database. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The Kids' Inpatient Database was systematically searched to extract patients under 19 years old admitted with a diagnosis of epiglottitis and undergoing an airway intervention. RESULTS: Three hundred forty-two sampled admissions were for epiglottitis; 40 of these patients were under the age of 19 and had an airway intervention (intubation or tracheotomy). On average, patients were 4.3 years old (SD = 6.0 years). The average length of stay was 15.6 days (SD = 33.9 and range = 0-199) with average total charges of $74,931 (SD = $163,387, range = $3342-$938,512). Multivariate analysis revealed that admission to a children's facility, admission other than via the emergency room, and nonemergent admission were associated with increased total charges. Twenty-two states reported an admission for pediatric epiglottitis that required airway intervention. CONCLUSIONS: In our sample, only 40 patients were identified who were under the age of 19 years and required an airway intervention for the treatment of epiglottitis. Epiglottitis is a rare, expensive, and protracted disease to treat in the postvaccine era. The unique nature of this disease has implications for training future surgeons on proper management of this potentially fatal disease.

    PMID: 19328345 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

    Supplemental Content

    Click here to read Click here to read Click here to read