Upper Respiratory Tract Obstruction

Recognition and Corrective Actions for Upper Respiratory Tract Obstruction

• Upper respiratory tract obstruction can cause noisy breathing, difficulty breathing, and obstructed airflow.
• The most common causes of upper respiratory tract obstruction are structural changes in the nose, trauma, systemic physiological changes, and pathological changes.
• Structural changes can include septal deviation, collapsing nose valves, nasal shell hypertrophy, adenoid hypertrophy, nasal polyps, neoplasms, and choanal atresia.
• Systemic physiological changes can be due to the nasal cycle, positional obstruction, metabolic and endocrine changes, rhinitis, and foreign bodies in the nose.
• Trauma to the nose, such as fractures, can lead to obstruction and difficulty breathing.
• Septal perforation can be caused by trauma, infections/inflammation, surgery, and various diseases.
• Nasal valve collapse, nasal concha hypertrophy, adenoid hypertrophy, nasal polyps, neoplasms, and choanal atresia can also cause upper respiratory tract obstruction.
• Rhinitis, including allergic, infectious, atrophic, medicamentosa, vasomotor, and chronic rhinosinusitis, can contribute to obstruction.
• Medicamentous rhinitis can be a result of certain medications.
• Foreign bodies in the nasal cavity can lead to obstruction.
• Upper respiratory tract obstruction can occur in the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, and nasal cavity.
• Diagnosis can be made through various methods, such as inspection of the nose, rhinoscopy, fiberendoscopy, CT, MR, and ultrasound. Treatment options include intubation, tracheotomy, conicotomy, and removal of foreign bodies.