Acute upper-airway obstruction by a lingual thyroglossal duct cyst and implications for advanced airway management.

Respiratory failure in infants and children is a common cause of ICU admission, and diseases that jeopardize the airway are the most frequent cause of cardiac arrest in neonatal and pediatric patients.1,2 In neonates specifically, there are numerous causes for respiratory distress, with upper-airway obstruction being an important source of morbidity and mortality.3,4 This case will discuss the diagnosis and management of acute upper-airway obstruction and subsequent difficult-airway management in a previously well neonate.