Epiglottitis differential diagnosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Prince Tano Djan, BSc, MBChB [2]

Overview

Differentiating Epiglottitis from other Diseases

Epiglottitis must be differentiated from other respiratory diseases and conditions that may cause throat pain and airway obstruction:[1][2]

Some simialrities and differences between these differentials are shown below:[3][4]


Variable Croup Epiglottitis Pharyngitis Bacterial tracheitis Tonsilitis Retropharyngeal abscess
Presentation Cough sore throat, pain on swallowing, fever, headache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting barking cough, stridor,

fever, chest pain,

ear pain, difficulty breathing, headache, dizziness.

sore throat, pain on swallowing, fever, headache, cough neck pain, stiff neck, torticollis

fever, malaise, stridor, and barking cough

Stridor
Drooling
Other symptoms include difficulty breathing, fever, chills, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness of voice
Causes Parainfluenza virus H. influenza type b, beta-hemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, fungi and viruses. Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. Staphylococcus aureus Most common cause is viral including adenovirus, rhinovirus, influenza, coronavirus, and respiratory syncytial virus. Second most common causes are bacterial; Group A streptococcal bacteria,[5] 
Physical exams findings Suprasternal and intercostal indrawing,[6] Inspiratory stridor[7], expiratory wheezing,[7] Sternal wall retractions[8] Cyanosis, Cervical lymphadenopathy, Inflammed epiglottis and may have enlarged

cervical lymph nodes

Age commonly affected Mainly 6 months and 3 years old

rarely, adolescents and adults[9] 

Used to be mostly found in

pediatric age group between 3 to 5 years,

however, recent trend favors adults

as most commonly affected individuals[10]

with a mean age of 44.94 years.

Mostly in children and young adults,

with 50% of cases identified

between the ages of 5 to 24 years.[11]

Primarily affects children

between 5 and 15 years old.[12]

Imaging finding Steeple sign on neck X-ray Thumbprint sign on neck x-ray
Treatment Dexamethasone and nebulised epinephrine Parenteral Cefotaxime or Ceftriaxone in combination with Vancomycin. Adjuvant therapy includes corticosteroids and racemic Epinephrine.[13][14]

References

  1. Everard ML (2009). "Acute bronchiolitis and croup". Pediatr. Clin. North Am. 56 (1): 119–33, x–xi. doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2008.10.007. PMID 19135584.
  2. Cherry JD (2008). "Clinical practice. Croup". N. Engl. J. Med. 358 (4): 384–91. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp072022. PMID 18216359.
  3. Hansen M, Meckler G, Lambert W, Dickinson C, Dickinson K, Guise JM (2016). "Paramedic assessment and treatment of upper airway obstruction in pediatric patients: an exploratory analysis by the Children's Safety Initiative-Emergency Medical Services". Am J Emerg Med. 34 (3): 599–601. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2015.12.082. PMC 4799729. PMID 26818155.
  4. Lee DR, Lee CH, Won YK, Suh DI, Roh EJ, Lee MH; et al. (2015). "Clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with croup and epiglottitis who visited 146 Emergency Departments in Korea". Korean J Pediatr. 58 (10): 380–5. doi:10.3345/kjp.2015.58.10.380. PMC 4644766. PMID 26576182.
  5. Putto A (1987). "Febrile exudative tonsillitis: viral or streptococcal?". Pediatrics. 80 (1): 6–12. PMID 3601520.
  6. Johnson D (2009). "Croup". BMJ Clin Evid. 2009. PMC 2907784. PMID 19445760.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Cherry, James D. (2008). "Croup". New England Journal of Medicine. 358 (4): 384–391. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp072022. ISSN 0028-4793.
  8. Johnson D (2009). "Croup". BMJ Clin Evid. 2009. PMC 2907784. PMID 19445760.
  9. Tong MC, Chu MC, Leighton SE, van Hasselt CA (1996). "Adult croup". Chest. 109 (6): 1659–62. PMID 8769531.
  10. Lichtor JL, Roche Rodriguez M, Aaronson NL, Spock T, Goodman TR, Baum ED (2016). "Epiglottitis: It Hasn't Gone Away". Anesthesiology. 124 (6): 1404–7. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000001125. PMID 27031010.
  11. Bennett, John (2015). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious diseases. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders. ISBN 978-1455748013.
  12. Sharav, Yair; Benoliel, Rafael (2008). Orofacial Pain and Headache. Elsevier. ISBN 0723434123.
  13. Nickas BJ (2005). "A 60-year-old man with stridor, drooling, and "tripoding" following a nasal polypectomy". J Emerg Nurs. 31 (3): 234–5, quiz 321. doi:10.1016/j.jen.2004.10.015. PMID 15983574.
  14. Wick F, Ballmer PE, Haller A (2002). "Acute epiglottis in adults". Swiss Med Wkly. 132 (37–38): 541–7. PMID 12557859.