title: A comparison of endotracheal intubation and tracheostomy in the management of acute epiglottitis in children in the tropics.
abstract: In children, acute epiglottitis is rapidly fatal due to airway obstruction by swollen supraglottic structures, but the oedema is short-lived. Therefore, in many centres short-term endotracheal intubation has replaced tracheostomy as the method of choice for relieving the obstruction. We have tried both methods in 15 children over a period of three years under conditions of limited material and human resources. Tracheostomy was found to be safer. It was concluded that it is better to have a live healthy child with a small scar in the neck than a dead child without a scar.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004826:Epiglottitis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000401:mortality; D007827:Laryngitis / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D014140:Tracheotomy