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Management of epiglottitis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Acute epiglotitis is a paediatric emergency. Management and treatment is as follows.

DO NOT:

  • panic
  • alarm the parents or child
  • examine the child in any way - especially do not try to visualize the epiglottitis using a tongue depressor

DO:

  • call a senior anaesthetist, paediatrician and ENT surgeon
  • alert theatres or ICU; the child needs to be admitted immediately

If respiratory arrest appears to be intervening before the senior help arrives, nebulised adrenaline can be used; this buys time but does not solve the underlying problem.

Diagnostically radiology is rarely required, and delaying treatment in order to image the child is inappropriate.

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The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

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