Acute epiglottitis caused by COVID-19: A systematic review

Authors

  • Xiangming Meng Department of Otolaryngology, Wuxi Huishan District People's Hospital, 2 Zhanqian North Road, Luoshe Town, Huishan District, Wuxi, China https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8250-9887
  • Chengzhou Han Department of Otolaryngology, Wuxi Huishan District People's Hospital, 2 Zhanqian North Road, Luoshe Town, Huishan District, Wuxi, China
  • Yangyang Wang Department of Otolaryngology, Wuxi Huishan District People's Hospital, 2 Zhanqian North Road, Luoshe Town, Huishan District, Wuxi, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17305/bb.2022.8861

Keywords:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), acute epiglottitis (AE), supraglottitis, Omicron

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial population infections worldwide. COVID-19 has been reported to cause acute epiglottitis (AE); nonetheless, COVID-19-related AE is poorly understood by healthcare workers because of the disease’s low occurrence. This systematic review aimed to improve knowledge of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19-related AE. We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus, using various keywords and descriptors such as "COVID-19," "SARS-CoV-2," and "AE" in combination with the AND/OR operator. This review included 11 patients with COVID-19-related AE, all of whom were adults except for one 15-year-old girl. COVID-19-related AE was more prevalent in males, who accounted for 81.8% of patients. Patients with COVID-19-related AE experienced symptoms such as hoarseness, dysphagia, odynophagia, sore throat, and dyspnea. Hoarseness may be one of the typical symptoms of COVID-19-related AE. Five patients with COVID-19-related AE had coexisting diseases, including hypertension, obesity, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and intracranial tumors. Antibiotics and steroids were commonly administered. Five patients with COVID-19-related AE underwent intubation and cricothyroidotomy airway management. Due to the low success rate of intubation, emergency tracheotomy is the recommended option for patients with COVID-19-related AE who present with more severe dyspnea. AE could be an uncommon manifestation of COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-2 infection should be considered as a possible cause of AE. Healthcare workers should be vigilant in recognizing COVID-19-related AE.

 

Author Biographies

  • Chengzhou Han, Department of Otolaryngology, Wuxi Huishan District People's Hospital, 2 Zhanqian North Road, Luoshe Town, Huishan District, Wuxi, China

     

     

  • Yangyang Wang, Department of Otolaryngology, Wuxi Huishan District People's Hospital, 2 Zhanqian North Road, Luoshe Town, Huishan District, Wuxi, China

     

     

Acute epiglottitis caused by COVID-19: A systematic review

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Published

03-07-2023

How to Cite

1.
Acute epiglottitis caused by COVID-19: A systematic review. Biomol Biomed [Internet]. 2023 Jul. 3 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];23(4):568–574. Available from: https://www.bjbms.org/ojs/index.php/bjbms/article/view/8861