title: Safety of outpatient airway dilation for adult laryngotracheal stenosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the safety of outpatient airway dilation for adult patients with subglottic or tracheal stenosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The records of patients treated with airway dilation between October 2003 and September 2013 were reviewed. Outcomes of patients who underwent dilation as inpatients versus outpatients were compared. Emergency room visits, readmissions, and 3 or more primary care physician visits within 30 days postoperatively were specifically evaluated. Postoperative hemorrhage, airway edema, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, reintubation, tracheostomy, tracheal rupture, pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, acute respiratory distress, or death were also reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred fourteen dilations performed in 53 patients with airway stenosis were included. Outpatient dilation was performed in 93 (82%); 21 (18%) underwent the procedure in the inpatient setting. Complications were low among both inpatient and outpatient groups (10% vs 1%, P=.09). No complications occurred during the overnight stay of the inpatient group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Outpatient airway dilation is a safe and feasible procedure. It can be routinely performed on an ambulatory basis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Bin
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Division of Laryngology, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California, USA edamrose@ohns.stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Damrose
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D004106:Dilatation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007829:Laryngostenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: bronchoscopy; complications; dilation; laryngotracheal stenosis; safety; subglottic stenosis