ABSTRACT
The radiographic diagnosis of airway lesions, especially laryngomalacia and tracheomalacia, often is imprecise. Endoscopy, which allows detailed examination of the upper airway, is an invasive procedure requiring sedation or anesthesia. A prospective study was undertaken to show the value of cine-CT (Imatron) scanning in diagnosing airway lesions in children. Eleven patients, aged 10 days to 4 years old, with a history of stridor were evaluated by both cine-CT and flexible fiberoptic endoscopy. Cine-CT studies of 12 children imaged for other reasons and without clinical evidence of airway disease served as controls to assess normal airway motion. Endoscopy identified 13 abnormalities, 11 of which were identified by cine-CT. Cine-CT has the capacity to image common causes of chronic stridor in children. It is rapid, noninvasive, and requires no sedation in most children. Although additional work is needed to clarify the role of cine-CT, this study suggests that cine-CT is a sensitive and specific imaging technique for evaluation of chronic stridor in infants and children.
Subject(s)
Laryngeal Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods , Tracheal Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Child, Preschool , Cineradiography , Fiber Optic Technology , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Laryngeal Diseases/diagnosis , Laryngoscopy , Respiratory Sounds/diagnosis , Respiratory Sounds/diagnostic imaging , Tracheal Diseases/diagnosis , Vocal Cord Paralysis/diagnosis , Vocal Cord Paralysis/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
Esophageal inflammatory disease is an unusual cause of stridor in infants and children. Pediatric patients with upper respiratory tract obstructive symptoms secondary to foreign body esophagitis and esophageal moniliasis are presented. The importance of esophageal abnormalities as a potential cause of stridor is emphasized.
