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Review
. 2017 Nov;47(7):443-452.
doi: 10.1016/j.medmal.2017.06.006. Epub 2017 Jul 27.

Update on childhood and adult infectious tracheitis

M Blot  1 , P Bonniaud-Blot  2 , N Favrolt  3 , P Bonniaud  3 , P Chavanet  4 , L Piroth  4
Affiliations
Review

Update on childhood and adult infectious tracheitis

M Blot et al. Med Mal Infect. 2017 Nov.

Abstract
in English, French

The trachea is a pivotal organ of the respiratory tract. Rather than a genuine anatomic border, it acts as a crossroad in all respiratory infectious processes. Even though not strictly limited to the trachea, infections such as laryngotracheitis and tracheobronchitis are frequently diagnosed in children, in particular during the winter season. Infectious tracheitis etiologies are diverse and the distinction between viral and bacterial origins, albeit difficult, remains relevant considering the substantial differences in terms of gravity and therapeutic management. This literature review summarizes the microbiological and clinical aspects of community-acquired and nosocomial tracheitis in adults and children, as well as the adequate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. It also highlights the emergence of fungal tracheitis in immunocompromised patients, of ventilator-associated tracheitis in intensive care medicine, and beyond all that the potential short and long-term consequences of tracheitis.

Considérée comme le plus long organe des voies respiratoires, la trachée joue plus un rôle de carrefour au cours des processus infectieux, qu’une véritable frontière anatomique. Alors que la trachéite pure est rare, les laryngo-trachéites et les trachéo-bronchites sont fréquemment diagnostiquées chez l’enfant en période hivernale. Le spectre étiologique des trachéites infectieuses est vaste et la distinction entre origine virale et bactérienne reste un véritable challenge tant la gravité et la gestion thérapeutique varie entre ces deux origines. Cette revue souligne les particularités microbiologiques et cliniques de l’enfant et de l’adulte au cours des trachéites communautaires et nosocomiales, et décrit les approches diagnostique et thérapeutique. Elle met en exergue l’émergence des trachéites fongiques chez le patient immunodéprimé comme la trachéo-bronchite aspergillaire, et les trachéites acquises sous ventilation chez le patient en réanimation, et au-delà de ces situations spécifiques, les conséquences à court et long terme des trachéites.

Keywords: Croup; Tracheitis; Trachéite; Trachéite acquise sous ventilation; Ventilator-associated tracheitis.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Origins and consequences of ventilator-associated tracheitis. Déterminants et conséquences de la trachéite acquise sous ventilation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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