Radiographic parameters in adult epiglottitis.

A retrospective study was undertaken to define precise radiographic criteria for the diagnosis of epiglottitis in the adult. We reviewed the standard lateral neck films of six patients over the age of 18 with epiglottitis and five with a normal epiglottis. Radiographic anatomy measured included the angle of the valleculae, retropharyngeal soft tissue width at C2, retrotracheal soft tissue width at C6, width of the epiglottis, width of the aryepiglottic folds, and the hypopharyngeal to tracheal air column ratio. The measurement differences were significant between the groups only for the width of the epiglottis and aryepiglottic folds (P less than .01). Width of the epiglottis greater than 8 mm and of the aryepiglottic folds greater than 7 mm seem highly suggestive of epiglottitis in the adult.