VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 3 ( September-December, 2021 ) > List of Articles
Ram Shankar Renganathan, Hemalatha Palaniappan
Citation Information : Renganathan RS, Palaniappan H. Laryngotracheal Trauma—Etiology, Treatment, and Outcome: An Indian Scenario. Int J Otorhinolaryngol Clin 2021; 13 (3):82-86.
DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10003-1388
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Published Online: 21-04-2022
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2021; The Author(s).
Background: Laryngotracheal trauma is a dangerous injury that needs a very high index of suspicion and prompt intervention to increase survival and maintain aerodigestive functions. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence, airway intervention, and aerodigestive outcome among patients with laryngotracheal trauma, and factors influencing these outcomes were statistically analyzed and results derived. Materials and methods: In all, 31 patients were included in our study. The duration of the study was 2 years. In external laryngeal trauma group, patients were examined and classified according to the Schaefer–Fuhrman grading. The patient was followed up throughout the stay in hospital until decannulated or discharged. In the internal laryngeal trauma group, previous history of intubation or tracheostomy or any other causes of internal injury was noted. The stenotic segment was graded based on Cotton–Myers grading and McCaffrey grading, and the outcome was measured in terms of airway phonation and swallowing and the results were statistically analyzed. Results: Among the 31 patients, 12 patients (33.7%) were in a tracheostomy tube and the remaining were not in a tracheostomy tube (64.3%) of which 1 patient was not tracheostomized at all in the external laryngeal trauma group as she was managed conservatively. In the cutthroat group, 11 patients were successfully decannulated and 1 patient was not tracheostomized. In the stenotic segment group of 19 patients, 13 patients were in tracheostomy (68.4%) and the remaining 8 patients were successfully decannulated. Conclusion: Males outnumber females in our study. Age less than 40 years leads to a good rate of decannulation. External laryngeal trauma has good rates of decannulation when compared to internal laryngeal trauma. All cases of supraglottic stenosis in our study were attributed to corrosive acid intake. In our study, tracheal stenosis has a good rate of decannulation.