Clinical features of patients with acute epiglottitis in the emergency department

Background:Acute epiglottitis is a potentially life-threatening condition, but its clinical manifestations are usually nonspecific.Objectives:We investigated the clinical differences between patients with and those without acute epiglottitis and identified the risk factors of patients with acute epiglottitis who may develop airway compromise.Methods:We studied patients suspected of having acute epiglottitis in the emergency department. All patients received fibre-optic laryngoscopy performed by an otorhinolaryngologist and were subsequently divided into two groups: patients with acute epiglottitis and those without.Results:Of the 311 adult patients, 108 were diagnosed with acute epiglottitis. In the nonepiglottitis group, more complaints of fever (p < 0.001), cough (p < 0.001), and rhinorrhoea (p = 0.048) and more systemic comorbidities were reported. People with acute epiglottitis generally had a higher prevalence of head and neck tumours (p = 0.015), odynophagia (p = 0.037) and an elevated white blood c...