Long term outcomes of infants with moderate to severe laryngomalacia

Abstract

Objective To determine the long term outcomes of laryngomalacia infants with anomalies and to determine the clinical practice guideline for these infants. Methods The charts of infants with moderate to severe laryngomalacia, who were admitted to our hospital between January 2013 and December 2015, were retrospectively reviewed.These infants were divided into two groups, anomaly(A) group(n=37) and non-anomaly (NA) group(n=19). Results Fifty-six cases were enrolled.Infants in A group were older at symptom relief than those in NA group[(10.00±3.56) months vs.(7.89±3.03) months, P<0.05], and the weight percentiles of infants in A group were lower at 3, 6 and 12 months than those in NA group(P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups on the weights percentiles in infants at 24 months after diagnosis.Five of 37 cases in A group and 3 of 19 cases in NA group had supraglottoplasty.One infant in A group had tracheotomy. Conclusion Both breathing difficulty and development retardations of infants with moderate or severe laryngomalacia could gradually improved with age.There is not enough evidence to support the aggressive supraglottoplasty for infants with anomalies and laryngomalacia. Key words: Laryngomalacia; Anomaly; Surgery; Development