[Acute epiglottitis in adults. Diagnosis and treatment in our experience of 30 cases]. / Epiglotitis aguda en adultos. Nuestra experiencia clínica en 30 casos.

OBJECTIVE: We present the 15-year-long experience of 2 hospitals in our region regarding the therapeutic management of acute epiglottitis in adults. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Thirty patients with an average age of 46 years were diagnosed as having acute epiglottitis, either by indirect laryngoscopy or fibroscopy, and studied through a series of clinical parameters: age, sex, personal history, complementary tests, clinical symptoms, treatment, evolution, and average stay in hospital. RESULTS: We found an obvious predominance of this urgent pathology in males, with most patients reporting dysphagia or odynophagia (90 %). Dyspnoea was confirmed in 40 % of the cases but only 7 required intubation, coniotomy, or tracheotomy. The complications recorded include one case of mediastinitis and another of death due to sudden cardiorespiratory arrest. CONCLUSIONS: We feel that a specific protocol must be established to take into account, apart from admission to hospital, personal contact with an intensive care unit (ICU) even though in most cases it is ultimately unnecessary to ensure airway patency as seen in the various case series published.

Epiglotitis aguda en adultos. Nuestra experiencia clínica en 30 casos / Acute epiglottitis in adults. Diagnosis and treatment in our experience of 30 cases

Objetivo: Dar a conocer la experiencia conjunta de 2 hospitales de nuestra región en los últimos 15 años sobre el manejo terapéutico de los casos de epiglotitis aguda en adultos. Pacientes y método: Se incluye a 30 pacientes con una media de edad de 46 años, diagnosticados de epiglotitis aguda mediante laringoscopia indirecta o fibroscopia, de los que se recogió una serie de parámetros clínicos: edad, sexo, antecedentes personales, estudios complementarios, síntomas clínicos, tratamiento, evolución y estancia hospitalaria. Resultados: Encontramos un claro predominio de esta enfermedad urgente en varones, que en su mayoría referían disfagia u odinofagia (90 %). Se constató disnea en un 40 % de los casos, de los que sólo 7 requirieron intubación, coniotomía o traqueotomía. Entre las complicaciones registramos un caso de mediastinitis y una muerte por parada cardiorrespiratoria súbita. Conclusiones: Creemos que se debe establecer un protocolo de actuación que incluya, aparte del ingreso hospitalario, un contacto personal con una unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI) aunque en la mayoría de los casos finalmente no sea necesario asegurar la vía respiratoria, como se comprueba en las diferentes casuísticas publicadas

Objective: We present the 15-year-long experience of 2 hospitals in our region regarding the therapeutic management of acute epiglottitis in adults. Patients and method: Thirty patients with an average age of 46 years were diagnosed as having acute epiglottitis, either by indirect laryngoscopy or fibroscopy, and studied through a series of clinical parameters: age, sex, personal history, complementary tests, clinical symptoms, treatment, evolution, and average stay in hospital. Results: We found an obvious predominance of this urgent pathology in males, with most patients reporting dysphagia or odynophagia (90 %). Dyspnoea was confirmed in 40 % of the cases but only 7 required intubation, coniotomy, or tracheotomy. The complications recorded include one case of mediastinitis and another of death due to sudden cardiorespiratory arrest. Conclusions: We feel that a specific protocol must be established to take into account, apart from admission to hospital, personal contact with an intensive care unit (ICU) even though in most cases it is ultimately unnecessary to ensure airway patency as seen in the various case series published