Epiglottitis Treatment

Medical Treatment

Currently, immediate hospitalization is required whenever the diagnosis of epiglottitis is suspected. The person is in danger of sudden and unpredictable closing of the airway. So doctors must establish a secure way for the person to breathe. Antibiotics may be given.

• Initial treatment of epiglottitis may consist of making the person as comfortable as possible including placing an ill child in a dimly lit room with the parent holding the child, humidified oxygen, and close monitoring. If there are no signs of respiratory distress, IV fluids may be helpful. It is important to prevent anxiety because it may lead to an acute airway obstruction especially in children.
  
  
• People with possible signs of airway obstruction require laryngoscopy in the operating room with proper staff and airway intervention equipment. In very severe cases, the doctor may need to perform a cricothyrotomy (cutting the neck to insert a breathing tube directly into the windpipe).
  
  
• IV antibiotics may effectively control inflammation and get rid of the infection from the body. Antibiotics are usually prescribed to treat the most common types of bacteria. Blood cultures are usually obtained with the premise that any organism found growing in the blood can be attributed as the cause of the epiglottitis. However, in many cases, if not the actual majority, blood cultures fail to yield this information.
  
  
• Corticosteroids and epinephrine have been used in the past. However, there is no good proof that these medications are helpful in cases of epiglottitis.