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Profiling the clinical characteristics and surgical efficacy of laryngomalacia in children

  • Laryngology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To analyze the clinical characteristics of laryngomalacia in Chinese children and explore the surgical efficacy and factors influencing severe laryngomalacia.

Methods

Children (0–18 years) diagnosed with laryngomalacia in our hospital from January 2016 to January 2022 were enrolled in this study. Clinical data of patients, including general conditions, clinical symptoms, grading and classification, medical comorbidities, surgical efficacy, and the risk factors influencing severe laryngomalacia were retrospectively analyzed.

Results

A total of 1810 children were enrolled (male:female; 2.02:1), among which most were infants under 1 year (77.18%). Inspiratory laryngeal stridor (69.56%) was the most common symptom. Most patients had mild laryngomalacia (79.28%), with type IV laryngomalacia being the most common classification (52.27%). Congenital heart disease (37.85%) was the most common medical comorbidity. A total of 168 severe laryngomalacia cases were treated via supraglottoplasty with an effective rate of 83.93%. Notably, preterm birth (OR = 3.868, 95% CI 1.340 ~ 11.168), low birth weight (OR = 4.517, 95% CI 1.477 ~ 13.819) and medical comorbidities (OR = 7.219, 95% CI 2.534 ~ 20.564) were independent risk factors for poor prognosis (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Laryngomalacia is common among infants under the age of one, and it is mostly characterized by inspiratory laryngeal stridor with various medical comorbidity. Supraglottoplasty is the first treatment choice for severe laryngomalacia cases with high success rates. However, premature delivery, low birth weight, and medical comorbidities significantly affect the efficacy of surgery.

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Data availability

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the reviewers who participated in the review, as well as MJEditor (www.mjeditor.com) for providing English editing services during the preparation of this manuscript.

Funding

Youth Innovation inFuture Medicine, Chongging Medical University (W0128).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology Children’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

    Ling Xiao, Yang Yang, Ling Ding, Zhihai Zhang, Xuelei Li, Hongbing Yao & Xinye Tang

  2. China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China

    Ling Xiao, Yang Yang, Ling Ding, Zhihai Zhang, Xuelei Li, Hongbing Yao & Xinye Tang

  3. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China

    Ling Xiao, Yang Yang, Ling Ding, Zhihai Zhang, Xuelei Li, Hongbing Yao & Xinye Tang

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  1. Ling Xiao
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Contributions

LX: collected data and wrote the paper, YY and LD: statistical analysis and finished statistical analysis, ZZ and XL: continued to check data and paper, HY and XT: proposed ideas and finished project administration. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xinye Tang.

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The authors declare that this study was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Xiao, L., Yang, Y., Ding, L. et al. Profiling the clinical characteristics and surgical efficacy of laryngomalacia in children. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 281, 273–281 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-023-08254-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-023-08254-9

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