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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffEpiglottis can cause a number of complications, including:
- Respiratory failure. The epiglottis is a small, movable "lid" just above the larynx that prevents food and drink from entering your windpipe. But if the epiglottis becomes swollen — either from infection or from injury — the airway narrows and may become completely blocked. This can lead to respiratory failure — a life-threatening condition in which the level of oxygen in the blood drops dangerously low or the level of carbon dioxide becomes excessively high.
- Spreading infection. Sometimes the bacteria that cause epiglottitis cause infections elsewhere in the body, such as pneumonia, meningitis or a blood infection (sepsis).
References
- Epiglottitis. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec08/ch090/ch090l.html. Accessed May 17, 2012.
- Is your child protected against Hib? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HibDisease/. Accessed May 17, 2012.
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-hib.pdf. Accessed May 19, 2012.
- Hay WW, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics. 20th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=6582059. Accessed May 17, 2012.
- Grover C. Thumb sign of epiglottitis. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2011;365:447.
- Longo DL, et al. Harrison's Online. 18th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=9097038. Accessed May 17, 2012.
- Lalwani AK. Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=55768949. Accessed May 17, 2012.
- Kavanagh KR, et al. Traumatic epiglottitis after foreign body ingestion. Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 2008;72:901.
- Shah RK, et al. Epiglottitis in the United States: National trends, variances, prognosis and management. Laryngoscope. 2010;120:1256.
- Valdez-Lowe C, et al. Pulse oximetry in adults. American Journal of Nursing. 2009;109:52.
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