Introduction

Stridor is defined as high pitched noise generated due to turbulent flow of air through a partial obstruction of the airway in larynx or trachea.¹ 

Stridor is one of the life threatening symptoms presenting to the Emergency Department. Its presence indicates an obstruction of the airway. Stridor is a manifestation of foreign body obstruction, severe anaphylaxis and infections such as viral croup, acute epiglottitis and acute tracheitis.^2,3

It is more common in males than females and about 15% of patients have a strong family history of croup. Epiglottitis was once one of the most common infectious causes of upper airway obstruction but now occurs much less frequently. It affects approximately 1.3 out of every 100,000 children per year.⁴ 

Foreign body aspiration is the most common non-infectious cause of upper airway obstruction which may or may not result in stridor, and causes the deaths of more than 150 children per year.⁵

Laryngomalacia and tracheomalacia are the most prevalent causes of congenital stridor, accounting for 60% of cases.⁶ 

1. Zakir Hussain, Otorhinolaryngology, 3rd edition, Paras Medical Publication, Page 791.
2. Kuan WS, Quek LS. Stridor in an adult: not just a child's disease. Eur J Emerg Med 2009;16:109-110.
3. Harold Ludman. Hoarseness and stridor. Br Med J 1981;28(282):715-717.
4. Richards AM. Pediatric respiratory emergencies. Emerg Med Clin North Am 2016;34:77-96.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nonfatal choking-related episodes among children - United States, 2001. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2002;51:945-948.
6. Hemangioma Investigator Group, Haggstrom AN, Droplet BA, Baselga E et al. Prospective study of infantile hemangiomas: Demopgrahic, prenatal and perinatal characteristics. J Pediatr 2007; 150:291-294.
7. Stroud RH, Friedman NR. An update on inflammatory disorders of the pediatric airway: epiglotittis, croup and tracheitis. Am J Otolaryngol 2001;22:268-275.

Dr Ritu Nigam

Associate Professor Dept Of Ent Gajra Raja Medical College Gwalior