Stridor is a high pitched sound resulting from turbulent gas flow in the upper airway. It may be inspiratory, expiratory or present on both inspiration and expiration. It can be indicative of serious airway obstruction from severe conditions such as epiglottitis, a foreign body lodged in the airway, or a laryngeal tumor. Stridor is indicative of a potential medical emergency and should always command attention. Wherever possible, attempts should be made to immediately establish the cause of the stridor (e.g., foreign body, vocal cord edema, tracheal compression by tumor, functional laryngeal dyskinesia, etc.) That examination requires visualization of the airway by a team of medical experts equipped to control the airway. The term symptom (from the Greek meaning chance, mishap or casualty, itself derived from συμπιπτω meaning to fall upon or to happen to) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... In medicine, a sign is a feature of disease as detected by the doctor during physical examination of a patient. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) is a coding of diseases and signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, as classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). ... // R00-R99 - Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R09) Symptoms and signs involving the circulatory and respiratory systems (R00) Abnormalities of heart beat (R000) Tachycardia, unspecified (R001) Bradycardia, unspecified (R002) Palpitations (R008) Other and unspecified abnormalities of heart beat (R01) Cardiac murmurs and other... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The airways are those parts of the respiratory system through which air flows, to get from the external environment to the alveoli. ... Epiglottitis is inflammation of the cartilage that covers the trachea(windpipe). ... {{Otheruses4|the medical term|the Australian television series|Medical Emergenc an immediate threat to a persons life or long term health. ... The vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the human larynx. ... This page is about the condition called edema. ...

Treatments

The first issue of clinical concern in the setting of stridor is whether or not tracheal intubation or tracheostomy is immediately necessary. Some patients will need immediate tracheal intubation. If intubation can be delayed for a period a number of other potential options can be considered, depending on the severity of the situation and other clinical details. These include: Tracheotomy is a surgical procedure used to cut a hole in the trachea through which a small tube is inserted. ...

• Expectant management with full monitoring, oxygen by face mask, and positioning the head of the bed for optimum conditions (e.g., 45 - 90 degrees)

• Use of nebulized racemic epinephrine (0.5 to 0.75 ml of 2.25% racemic epinephrine added to 2.5 to 3 ml of normal saline) in cases where airway edema may be the cause of the stridor. ( Nebulized Cocaine in a dose not exceeding 3 mg/kg may also be used, but not together with racemic epinephrine [because of the risk of ventricular arrhythmias].)

• Use of dexamethasone (Decadron) 4-8 mg IV q 8 - 12 h in cases where airway edema may be the cause of the stridor; note that some time (in the range of hours) may be need for dexamethasone to work fully.

• Use of inhaled Heliox (70% helium, 30% oxygen); the effect is almost instantaneous

A nebulizer with an attached inhaling apparatus In medicine, a nebulizer is a device used to administer medication to people in forms of a liquid mist to the airways. ... In chemistry, a racemate is a mixture of equal amounts of left- and right-handed stereoisomers of a chiral molecule. ... Adrenaline redirects here. ... Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ... Dexamethasone is a potent synthetic member of the glucocorticoid class of steroid hormones. ... Dexamethasone is a synthetic member of the glucocorticoid class of hormones. ... Heliox is a gas that is composed of a mixture of helium (He) and oxygen (O2). ... General Name, symbol, number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, period, block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 4. ... This article is about the chemical element and its most stable form, or dioxygen. ...

Causes

Stridor has many different potential causes. It may occur as a result of:

• foreign bodies (e.g., aspirated peanut, aspirated wire),
• tumor formation (e.g., laryngeal papillomatosis, squamous cell carcinoma),
• infections (e.g., epiglottitis, retropharyngeal abscess, croup),
• subglottic stenosis (e.g., following prolonged intubation or congenital),
• airway edema (e.g., following instrumentation of the airway intubation, drug side effect, allergic reaction),
• as well as a result of laryngomalacia (the most common congenital cause of stridor),
• subglottic hemangioma (rare),
• and vascular rings compressing the trachea.
• Abnormalities of vocal cord function can also be responsible.
• Congenital anomalies of the airway are present in 87% of all cases of stridor in infants and children.^[1]

In medicine, aspiration is the entry of secretions or foreign material into the trachea and lungs. ... Binomial name L. This article is about the legume. ... Biopsy of a highly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth. ... Epiglottitis is inflammation of the cartilage that covers the trachea(windpipe). ... This term also refers to the rump of a quadruped; see croup (Wiktionary). ... A stenosis is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Pancreatitus can be caused by an Allergic Reaction to a food. ... Laryngomalacia (literally, soft larynx) is a very common condition of infancy, in which the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction. ... Hemangioma is a benign tumor, usually in the shape of a ball, but sometimes a flatter mat, formed by a collection of excess blood vessels in an area. ... Vascular rings refers to a group of congenital heart defects (CHDs) in which one or both of the great arteries (aorta and pulmonary artery) and/or associated vessels form one or more complete or partial rings around the trachea and/or esophagus. ... A congenital disorder is a medical condition or defect that is present at or before birth (for example, congenital heart disease). ...

Diagnosis

Stridor is usually diagnosed the basis of history and physical examination, with a view to revealing the underlying problem or condition.

Chest and neck x-rays, CT-scans, and / or MRIs may reveal structural pathology. An X-ray picture (radiograph), taken by Wilhelm Röntgen in 1896, of his wife, Anna Bertha Ludwigs[1] hand X-rays (or Röntgen rays) are a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength in the range of 10 to 0. ... CAT apparatus in a hospital Computed axial tomography (CAT), computer-assisted tomography, computed tomography, CT, or body section roentgenography is the process of using digital processing to generate a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around... MRIS may refer to: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Menopausal Research and Info Service ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ...

Flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy can also be very helpful, especially in assessing vocal cord function of in looking for signs of compression or infection. This drawing shows a bronchoscope inserted through the mouth, trachea, and bronchus into the lung; lymph nodes along trachea and bronchi; and cancer in one lung. ...

References

External links

Look up Stridor in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Stridor at eMedicine
• Congenital stridor at eMedicine
• MedlinePlus Encyclopedia Breathing sounds - abnormal (stridor)
• DDB 27190
• Stridor sounds at R.A.L.E.® Lung Sounds