Download – Large Airway Obstruction in Children

The commonest cause of paediatric airway obstruction is still the child with depressed conscious level who is not positioned properly or whose airway is not opened adequately by Basic Life Support manoeuvres. Airway foreign bodies are also common and may need rapid intervention. The pattern of infective causes of airway obstruction has changed since the introduction of vaccination programmes against Haemophilus influenzae type B. There has been a marked reduction in the incidence of epiglottitis, with a relative predominance now of viral croup and bacterial tracheitis, usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

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