Airway obstruction

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Airway obstruction is a respiratory problem caused by increased resistance in the bronchioles (usually from a decreased radius of the bronchioles) that reduces the amount of air inhaled in each breath and the oxygen that reaches the pulmonary arteries. It is different from airway restriction (which prevents air from diffusing into the pulmonary arteries because of some kind of blockage in the lungs).

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Hilda Mahmoudi M.D., M.P.H.^[2]

Airway obstruction can be caused by obvious physical obstruction, such as choking or due to a swollen epiglottis in epiglottitis. It can also be caused by less obvious causes of airway compromise such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and pulmonary edema. A high index of suspicion needs to be maintained when a person presents with signs of infection and upper airway obstruction, as epiglottitis and peritonsillar abcess can cause rapid cardiorespiratory compromise.

• Adenoid hypertrophy

• Angioedema

• Asthma

• Atelectasis

• Chemical burns

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Croup

• Epiglottitis

• Foreign body

• Infectious mononucleosis

• Laryngomalacia

• Pneumonia

• Pulmonary edema

• Subglottic stenosis

Cardiovascular	Anaphylactic shock , Aortic arch anomalies, Aortic dissection, Hemangioma, Pulmonary edema, Superior vena cava syndrome
Chemical / poisoning	Chemical burns,
Dermatologic	Hemangioma, Kaposi’s sarcoma
Drug Side Effect	ACE inhibitors, Anaphylactic shock , Angioedema, Levodopa, Penicillin, Sedation, Sodium thiopental, Trovafloxacin mesylate
Ear Nose Throat	Adenoid hypertrophy, Croup, Dysphagia, Empty nose syndrome, Epiglottitis, Large turbinate, Laryngomalacia, Pallister-Hall syndrome, Peritonsillar abscess, Pharyngeal flap surgery, Pierre Robin syndrome, Retropharyngeal abscess, Rhinoplasty, Subglottic stenosis, Swollen turbinates, Throat cancer, Thyroid cancer, Thyroid Carcinoma, Tonsillectomy, Tracheitis, Tracheomalacia, Tracheotomy, Upper airway obstruction, Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, Vocal cord problems
Endocrine	Thyroid cancer, Thyroid carcinoma
Environmental	Foreign body, Hanging
Gastroenterologic	Cystic fibrosis, Pallister-Hall syndrome
Genetic	Cystic fibrosis, Pallister-Hall syndrome, Pierre Robin syndrome
Hematologic	Hemangioma
Iatrogenic	Rhinoplasty, Tonsillectomy, Tracheotomy, Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
Infectious Disease	Bacterial infections, Epiglottitis, Infectious mononucleosis, Kaposi’s sarcoma, Peritonsillar abscess, Retropharyngeal abscess, Tracheitis, Viral infections
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	Increased neck circumference, Pallister-Hall syndrome, Pierre Robin syndrome
Neurologic	Conscious Sedation, Pallister-Hall syndrome, Sedation
Nutritional / Metabolic	Obesity, Obesity hypoventilation syndrome
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	Sedation
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	Aspiration, Asthma, Atelectasis, Bronchiectasis, Bronchiolitis obliterans, Chronic airway obstruction, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Community-acquired pneumonia, Cystic fibrosis, Exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage, Hospital-acquired pneumonia, Lipid pneumonia, Obesity hypoventilation syndrome, Pneumonia, Pulmonary edema
Renal / Electrolyte	Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis,
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	Allergic reactions, Anaphylactic shock , Angioedema, Interleukin 13, Leukotriene,
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Aortic dissection, Trauma
Urologic	No underlying causes, Pallister-Hall syndrome
Dental	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Smoke burn

• ACE inhibitors

• Adenoid hypertrophy

• Allergic reactions

• Anaphylactic shock

• Angioedema

• Aortic arch anomalies

• Aortic dissection

• Aspiration

• Asthma

• Atelectasis

• Bacterial infections

• Bronchiectasis

• Bronchiolitis obliterans

• Chemical burns

• Chronic airway obstruction

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Community-acquired pneumonia

• Conscious sedation

• Croup

• Cystic fibrosis

• Dysphagia

• Empty nose syndrome

• Epiglottitis

• Exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage

• Foreign body

• Hanging

• Hemangioma

• Hospital-acquired pneumonia

• Increased neck circumference

• Infectious mononucleosis

• Interleukin 13

• Kaposi’s sarcoma

• Large turbinate

• Laryngomalacia

• Leukotriene

• Levodopa

• Lipid pneumonia

• Obesity

• Obesity hypoventilation syndrome

• Pallister-Hall syndrome

• Penicillin

• Peritonsillar abscess

• Pharyngeal flap surgery

• Pierre Robin syndrome

• Pneumonia

• Pulmonary edema

• Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis

• Retropharyngeal abscess

• Rhinoplasty

• Sedation

• Smoke burn

• Sodium thiopental

• Subglottic stenosis

• Superior vena cava syndrome

• Swollen turbinate

• Throat cancer

• Thyroid cancer

• Thyroid carcinoma

• Tonsillectomy

• Tracheitis

• Tracheomalacia

• Tracheotomy

• Trauma

• Trovafloxacin mesylate

• Upper airway obstruction

• Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty

• Viral infections

• Vocal cord problems

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Inability to relieve the obstruction can cause:

• Brain damage
• Breathing failure
• Death

Prompt treatment is often successful. However, the condition is dangerous and may be fatal, even if treated.

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