What is a Respiratory Stridor?

A respiratory stridor is a short, abnormally high-pitched sound heard when a child's airway is partially obstructed. Usually stridor is heard upon inspiration, and it can be heard without a stethoscope.

Causes of Respiratory Stridor

• The obstructions leading to stridor can have congenital, infectious or traumatic causes. Infectious causes include bronchitis, croup and tonsillitis. Traumatic causes include foreign bodies in the throat, nose or ear, including aspirated food. Other traumatic causes are neck fractures or ingestion of a harmful substance that has damaged the child's airway.

Diagnosis of Respiratory Stridor

• In cases of stridor with an acute onset, the child should be examined for respiratory distress. Because stridor is a symptom and not a condition in and of itself, examination should focus on determining the underlying cause, and can include bronchoscopy, culturing of sputum, pulse oximetry and X-rays, as well as examination for signs of infection.

Treatment of Respiratory Stridor

• Treatment depends on the underlying cause of the stridor and on its extent. Antibiotics or steroids may be given to decrease swelling of the airway, and surgery is a possible treatment if the stridor is caused by stenosis, tumors or aspiration of a foreign body.