Stridor

Description:

Stridor (Latin stridor — hissing, whistle; Xing. stidor breath) — the whistling noisy breath caused by a turbulent air flow in respiratory tracts. Is an important symptom of considerable obstruction of a throat or trachea which can be caused by hit in their gleam of a foreign body (as a rule, food), a tumor or other states, life-threatening. The most important characteristics of a stridor — height, loudness and a phase of breath in which it occurs.

Stridor symptoms:

For specification of the reason and level of obstruction collecting the anamnesis and physical survey is carried out.

Height of a stridor and communication it with phases of breath allows to define localization of obstruction of respiratory tracts. The stridor of high sounding is caused by narrowing of a gleam of a throat at the level of voice folds, low — above voice folds (a laryngopharynx, an upper part of a throat). Average height of a stridor is more characteristic of obstruction below voice folds.

The inspiratory stridor (a stridor on a breath) is characteristic of obstruction above voice folds, expiratory (a stridor on an exhalation) — of obstruction below voice folds. The two-phase stridor is observed at obstruction at the level of voice folds or subcopular department of a throat.

After physical survey according to indications the X-ray analysis of a neck and thorax, a bronkhoskopiya, KT and/or MRT allowing to define the nature of structural changes of respiratory tracts is carried out.

Stridor reasons:

The stridor can develop at the following states:

    * inborn anomalies of development of respiratory tracts — 87% of cases of a stridor are at newborns and children
    * foreign bodys (owing to inhalation of a food bolus, etc.)
    * tumors (throat papillomatosis, planocellular throat cancer, tracheas or gullet)
    * infections (epiglottiditis, retropharyngeal abscess, croup)
    * a subcopular stenosis (owing to a long intubation, etc.)
    * swelled respiratory tracts (allergic reaction, side effects of medicines)
    * subcopular hemangioma (seldom)
    * the vascular rings squeezing a trachea
    * thyroidites
    * paralysis of a voice fold
    * a tracheomalacia or a trakheobronkhomalyation (at fall of a trachea)

Treatment of the Stridor:

Therapy of a stridor is carried out within treatment of the disease which caused it. A symptomatic treatment — recovery of passability of respiratory tracts (antiedematous therapy; if necessary — a tracheostomy, a trachea intubation).