FOR MORE THAN two decades, I have had the opportunity to evaluate infants and children referred to Children's with symptoms of upper airway obstruction. In this brief article, I offer a framework that helps to conceptualize the problem. Stridor is the audible symptom produced by the rapid, turbulent flow of air through a narrowed segment of the respiratory tract, more specifically, the large airways. It is often the most prominent symptom of airway obstruction in the pediatric patient.
Proper management is possible only after a precise diagnosis has been established.
Stridor is a symptom and not a diagnosis. It cannot be managed appropriately on the basis of a presumptive or inferential diagnosis. Stridor is most often inspiratory. It typically originates from the larynx, upper trachea, or hypopharynx. The term stertor has been used to describe the low-pitched inspiratory snoring sound typically produced by nasal or nasopharyngeal obstruction.