Airway Obstruction: Clinical Analysis of Cases in a Tertiary Hospital

Background: Acute upper airway obstruction is a life-threatening emergency that requires urgent evaluation and precise action to save life. It is the most crucial and dramatic emergency faced in otorhinolaryngology (ORL) practice, and occurs in both the old and young, male and female. Purpose: The study was aimed to analyze cases of acute upper airway obstruction seen in our tertiary Hospital over a decade and half, to ascertain the number of patients, their ages and sexes, causes and interventions. Methods: It was a retrospective study conducted in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria from January 2007 to December 2021. The charts and records of the patients were reviewed to extract the required data which were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: Two hundred and ninety one (291) cases of acute upper airway obstruction were studied. There were 200 (68.73%) males and 91 (31.27%) females, ratio 2.20:1.00. Their ages ranged from 1 day (0.002739 years) to 88 years, with a mean of 30.61 ± 26.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 27.53 to 33.68 and median of 29. Children were 132 (45.36%) and adults 159 (54.64%). Causes of obstruction were many and varied, and included: congenital, trauma, infection, inflammation, neoplasm and others. Tracheostomy was the main surgical airway intervention. Conclusion: Incidence of acute upper airway obstruction was common and involved both the old and young, male and female, with varied causes. Vigilance and caution need be taken for early presentation and precise intervention offered to mitigate morbidity and mortality.