Information on Tracheitis

By: Peter Hutch Posted on: 2008-05-17 Downloads: 25 ** Print Article ** ** Copy Article ** Please Rate this Article 5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5  Not yet Rated

Article Summary: Tracheitis (also known as Bacterial tracheitis or Acute bacterial tracheitis) is a bacterial infection of the trachea and is capable of producing airway obstruction. One of the most common causes is Staphylococcus aureus and often follows a recent viral upper respiratory infection. It is the most serious in young children, possibly because of the relatively small size of the trachea that gets easily blocked by swelling. The most frequent sign is the rapid development of stridor. It is occasionally confused with croup.

Tracheitis (also known as Bacterial tracheitis or Acute bacterial tracheitis) is a bacterial infection of the trachea and is capable of producing airway obstruction. One of the most common causes is Staphylococcus aureus and often follows a recent viral upper respiratory infection. It is the most serious in young children, possibly because of the relatively small size of the trachea that gets easily blocked by swelling. The most frequent sign is the rapid development of stridor. It is occasionally confused with croup.

Tracheitis is a bacterial infection of the trachea and is capable of producing airway obstruction.One of the most common causes is Staphylococcus aureus and often follows a recent viral upper respiratory infection. It is the most serious in young children, possibly because of the relatively small size of the trachea that gets easily blocked by swelling. The most frequent sign is the rapid development of stridor. It is occasionally confused with croup. (From the Wikpedia article Tracheitis.)

Infections of the respiratory tract are common in pediatric patients. Respiratory disease represents the leading cause of hospitalization in children less than four years of age and is responsible for many physicians’ office and emergency department visits. The severity of upper respiratory tract infection ranges from mild, self-limited disease, to potentially life-threatening airway obstruction. The prepared clinician can often make a diagnosis based solely on the history and physical examination, using radiographs and laboratory exams to aid in diagnosis when the clinical picture is unclear.

Bacterial tracheitis is most often caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. It frequently follows a recent viral upper respiratory infection. It affects mostly young children, possibly because their small trachea is easily blocked by swelling. Bacterial tracheitis is a diffuse inflammatory process of the larynx, trachea, and bronchi with adherent or semiadherent mucopurulent membranes within the trachea. The major site of disease is at the cricoid cartilage level, the narrowest part of the trachea. Acute airway obstruction may develop secondary to subglottic edema and sloughing of epithelial lining or accumulation of mucopurulent membrane within the trachea.

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible symptoms of Tracheitis. This symptom information has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of symptoms of Tracheitis. Furthermore, symptoms of Tracheitis may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of symptoms and whether they are indeed symptoms of Tracheitis.

Children may still have a cough from their previous infection but this rapidly worsens. The child quickly develops stridor, a high pitched, crowing sound with breathing and increasing breathing difficulty. Fever is generally high and the child looks very ill. This condition may progress very rapidly. These children may sound as if they have croup, but the usual croup treatments do not improve the breathing difficulty. Tracheitis requires hospitalization and, almost always, a breathing tube (endotracheal tube) in order to maintain an open airway.

The child often needs to have a tube placed into the airways to help with breathing. This is called an endotracheal tube. The child will receive antibiotics through a vein and oxygen. The health care team will closely monitor the child's breathing.

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Peter Hutch
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