0
December 1988, Vol 142, No. 12 >
Article | December 1988

Oropharyngeal Examination for Suspected Epiglottitis FREE

RICHARD H. RAPKIN, MD
Am J Dis Child. 1988;142(12):1261. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1988.02150120015002.
Text Size: A A A
Published online
Article
References
Comments

Sir.—Since I have been present at the death or near death of several patients with epiglottitis, I feel constrained to respond to your request1 and to the article by Mauro et al. I also wish to call attention to previous discussions of this subject.2,3

In none of the six patients with epiglottitis described by Mauro and colleagues was the epiglottis visualized by "light alone, simply asking the child to open his mouth." This is consistent with my own study4 in which the epiglottis was visualized in none of three patients. That study was extended for several years and in no instance was the epiglottis visualized in a patient with epiglottitis when he or she was examined sitting up, with voluntary opening of the mouth, without a tongue blade. This procedure is nearly risk-free; none of my patients had acute dypsnea as a result of it.

In my

REFERENCES

1 +
Fulginiti VA:  Acute supraglottitis (epiglottitis): To look or not? AJDC 1988;;142:597.
2 +
Rapkin RH:  Acute epiglottitis: Pitfalls in diagnosis and management . Clin Pediatr 1971;; 10:312.
3 +
Rapkin RH:  Epiglottitis and the severe croup , in Smith CA, Dickerman JD, Lucey JF (eds): The Critically Ill Child . Philadelphia, WB Saunders Co, 1985;, chap 1.
4 +
Rapkin RH:  The diagnosis of epiglottitis: Simplicity and reliability of radiographs of the neck in the differential diagnosis of the croup syndrome . J Pediatr 1972;;80:96-98.
5 +
Baxter JD:  Acute epiglottitis in children . Laryngoscope 1967;;77:1358-1367.

Figures

Tables

Interactive Graphics

Video

Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature

Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal

References

1 +
Fulginiti VA:  Acute supraglottitis (epiglottitis): To look or not? AJDC 1988;;142:597.
2 +
Rapkin RH:  Acute epiglottitis: Pitfalls in diagnosis and management . Clin Pediatr 1971;; 10:312.
3 +
Rapkin RH:  Epiglottitis and the severe croup , in Smith CA, Dickerman JD, Lucey JF (eds): The Critically Ill Child . Philadelphia, WB Saunders Co, 1985;, chap 1.
4 +
Rapkin RH:  The diagnosis of epiglottitis: Simplicity and reliability of radiographs of the neck in the differential diagnosis of the croup syndrome . J Pediatr 1972;;80:96-98.
5 +
Baxter JD:  Acute epiglottitis in children . Laryngoscope 1967;;77:1358-1367.

Correspondence

Submit a Letter
CME
Accreditation Information
The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The AMA designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM per course. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Physicians who complete the CME course and score at least 80% correct on the quiz are eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM.
Note: You must get at least of the answers correct to pass this quiz.
Clear Answers | Save For Later
You have not filled in all the answers to complete this quiz
The following questions were not answered:
Sorry, you have unsuccessfully completed this CME quiz with a score of
The following questions were not answered correctly:
Commitment to Change (optional):
Indicate what change(s) you will implement in your practice, if any, based on this CME course.
Your quiz results:
The filled radio buttons indicate your responses. The preferred responses are highlighted
For CME Course: A Proposed Model for Initial Assessment and Management of Acute Heart Failure Syndromes
Indicate what changes(s) you will implement in your practice, if any, based on this CME course.
NOTE:
Citing articles are presented as examples only. In non-demo SCM6 implementation, integration with CrossRef’s “Cited By” API will populate this tab (http://www.crossref.org/citedby.html).
Compression-Only CPR: Pushing the Science Forward
Cone
AAM 2010;304:1493-1495.
All you need to read in the other general journals
BMJ 2010;341:c5893-c1494.
Submit a Comment

Some tools below are only available to our subscribers or users with an online account.

Related Content

Customize your page view by dragging & repositioning the boxes below.

© 2013 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
Powered bySilverchair Information Systems