Acute epiglottitis in adults. A review of 48 cases.

Acute epiglottitis was diagnosed infrequently in adults until the late 1960s and early 1970s. Because it is relatively rare, it may present a problem to the physician who sees an adult with sore throat and dysphagia, but does not think of epiglottitis. In this paper, we report our experience with 48 cases of acute epiglottitis in adults between the years 1963 and 1987. A discussion of the diagnosis and treatment of adult epiglottitis is presented. An adult with acute painful dysphagia should be considered to have epiglottitis until the diagnosis is proven otherwise.