title: Neonatal stridor and laryngeal cyst: Which comes first?
abstract: Neonatal stridor is a rare condition usually caused by laryngomalacia. Congenital laryngeal cyst represents an uncommon cause of stridor in the neonatal population and may be misinterpreted as laryngomalacia, leading to serious morbidity and mortality if diagnosis and treatment are delayed. Herein we report the case of a full-term infant with stridor, feeding problems and failure to thrive. Initially, direct laryngoscopy diagnosed only laryngomalacia. As stridor worsened, however, and respiratory distress appeared, repeat laryngoscopy showed vallecular laryngeal cyst, visible macroscopically. The patient was successfully treated with endoscopic marsupialization. There was no evidence of recurrence at follow up after 3 months. This case highlights the importance of laryngoscopic assessment for suspected laryngeal abnormalities in infants with stridor. If symptoms worsen, endoscopy should be repeated, because congenital laryngeal cysts may not be immediately visible macroscopically.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marseglia
authors.affiliation: Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Angelo
authors.affiliation: Unit of Paediatric Surgery, Department of Paediatrics, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Impellizzeri
authors.affiliation: Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Salvo
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Catalano
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galletti
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Galletti
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Galletti
authors.affiliation: Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Eloisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gitto
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D003560:Cysts / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007818:Laryngeal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D007828:Laryngoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: congenital laryngeal cyst; laryngomalacia; newborn; stridor; vallecular cyst