Subglottic stenosis in newborn intensive care unit graduates
R. Jones, A. Bodnar, Y. Roan and D. Johnson
Five infants with postintubation subglottic stenosis were identified among
64 intubated patients in a follow-up clinic. The presence of laryngeal
lesions was not suspected until three weeks to three months after discharge
from their initial hospitalization. The onset of stridor, often
precipitated by respiratory illness, led to the diagnosis, which in one
case was delayed for as long as three months. No correlation was found
between the presence of the severity of laryngeal pathology and the
gestational age of the infants or the duration of intubation in this study.
In spite of the precautions taken for the intubation of neonates requiring
assisted ventilation, subglottic stenosis may develop in these infants and
should always be considered in newborn intensive care unit graduates when
they manifest refractory or recurrent respiratory obstruction in the first
year of life. Routine follow-up of all intubated neonates to detect
subglottic stenosis is recommended.
