ACUTE STENOSING LARYNGOTRACHEITIS IN CHILDREN. DIAGNOSIS AND EMERGENCY TREATMENT. LECTURE

Acute respiratory failure in children is an urgent problem of modern emergency pediatrics. Their share in the structure of primary morbidity is about 60%. More than 25 million cases of respiratory organ diseases are registered annually in Russia among the children. Viral croup is one of the most frequent causes of the respiratory distress in young children. It is represented by a swelling of the mucous membrane of the lining of the larynx, accompanied by characteristic clinical symptoms: an inspiratory stridor, hoarseness, a rough "barking" cough. The article shows the features of clinical manifestations, methods for diagnosing acute stenosing laryngotracheitis, as well as supporting diagnostic criteria for alternative diseases that occur with stridor present. Urgent measures for croup treatment are aimed at the most rapid restoration of respiratory function possible as well as the improvement of the patient's condition, prevention of progression of laryngeal stenosis. The drug of choice in emergency treatment of croup are glucocorticosteroids - in inhaled, oral or parenteral forms. In cases of severe stenosis, epinephrine inhalations prove quite effective. The timely provision of qualified prehospital care is an important condition for optimizing the treatment of acute stenosing laryngotracheitis, which helps to prevent deterioration, reduce the incidence of complications, as well as the duration of inpatient treatment, and in some cases avoid hospitalization.

viral croup, acute stenosing laryngotracheitis, glucocorticosteroids, emergency treatment, children