EPIGLOTTITIS ACUTA TREATED WITH NASOTRACHEAL INTUBATION

Twenty children, ranging in age from 1–9 years, and one adult suffering from epiglottitis acuta were treated with nasotracheal intubation performed under general anaesthesia and with ampicillin. Clinical cure was obtained in all cases with a meail intubation time of 34 hours. The diagnosis, epiglottitis acuta, was suspected by the referring physician in 10 cases. The incidence of epiglottitis 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 epiglottitis by nasotracheal intubation in the hands of experienced anaesthesiologists and with close observation in an intensive care unit, is a safe method of management with negligible morbidity and mortality. © 1979 The Scandinavian Society of Anaesthesiologists