Congenital stridor in infancy. Clinical lessons derived from a survey of 31 instances.

Thirty-one cases of persistent stridor during infancy, which on study proved to be of congenital origin, were analyzed. The breakdown of these cases is as follows: 4 laryngotracheomalacia, 3 vascular anomalies, 4 angiomas, 1 mucous membrane, 1 laryngeal cyst. The remaining cases (18) belong to the so-called "benign" stridor group in that no specific etiology could be demonstrated and in that evolution was spontaneously favorable. In every case of stridor, the precise underlying cause should be looked for. In addition to clinical assessment the investigation of an infant with stridor calls for the following methods of examination: chest x-ray; larynx x-ray (anterior and lateral view) during iopneumography should be confined to specific cases.