Challenges Encountered by Emergency Physicians in Managing Acute Infectious Epiglottitis in Adolescent Patients

Acute infectious epiglottitis, or supraglottitis, is a potentially fatal disease. It is reported infrequently in adolescents, but its exact prevalence in this age group is unclear. We describe the course and treatment of a 16-year-old girl who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with acute infectious epiglottitis. This will be followed by a review of epiglottis in the 12-18-year age group. Owing to its seemingly benign presentation, epiglottitis should be high on the differential diagnosis in adolescents with sore throat. Ongoing surveillance for early or delayed obstruction of the airway is required. The gold standard for diagnosis is direct visualization of the epiglottis and surrounding structures. Epiglottitis in adolescents has a similar clinical presentation and progression in the ED as that in adults and warrants a similar diagnostic and therapeutic approach, although the rate of complications seems to be lower. MeSH words: Epiglottitis, infection, pediatric, adolescent, emergency physician, emergency department