[Epiglottitis in the adult. A proposition for a clinical classification and therapeutic strategy].

Because lack of criteria for staging and treatment of epiglottitis can lead to unnecessary morbidity and mortality, we have introduced a staging system for early classification and appropriate management of adult epiglottitis patients. We retrospectively staged 20 adults with epiglottitis to see in their final outcome would have been altered using our protocol. We found that staging and management according to our protocol were appropriate and possibly could have reduced mortality from 10% to nearly 0%.