Estudio retrospectivo de la epiglotitis aguda en Cantabria en el periodo 1992-2015

Abstract

Introduction and objective: Acute epiglottitis is an inflammation of the epiglottis and other adjacent structures that can produce severe obstruction of the airway. Our objective is to know the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of acute epiglottitis in a Region of the north of Spain. Method: Retrospective descriptive study of all patients diagnosed with acute epiglottitis from January 1992 to April 2015 in the Region of Cantabria (Spain). Results: Fifty patients were included in our study, aged between 1 and 80 years, of whom 40 were men and 10 were women. Only one of them was a pediatric patient. 2.7 cases / year were diagnosed, with an incidence of 0.5 cases per 100000 habitants per year. Two patients had Down syndrome. The main symptom was odynophagia (88%) followed by dyspnea (56%) and voice alteration (52%). Nine patients required a stay in Intensive Care. Four patients required orotracheal intubation; five needed an emergency tracheotomy. Seven patients had serious complications, one of them with severe neurological damage. None of them died because of epiglottitis. Conclusions: Acute epiglottitis is a rare but serious disease and, therefore, requires early treatment to avoid complications. We have observed an almost total disappearance of epiglottitis in pediatric patients in our region, which is explained by the introduction in the vaccination calendar of immunization against Haemophilus influenzae.