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Table 6 Radiological differential diagnosis of croup

From: Management of acute respiratory diseases in the pediatric population: the role of oral corticosteroids

Anteroposterior anterior neck radiograph can help to establish an alternative diagnosis in patients with atypical disease.

 

• Cone-shaped narrowing instead of the normal squared shoulder appearance of the subglottic area suggests croup.

 

• A ragged edge or a membrane spanning the trachea suggests bacterial tracheitis.

 

• Thickening of epiglottis and aryepiglottic folds suggest epiglottitis.

 

• Bulging of the posterior pharynx soft tissue suggests retropharyngeal abscess.

 
  1. * Reproduced from: Toward Optimized Practice (TOP) Working Group for Croup: Guideline for the diagnosis and management of croup. Alberta, Canada: Edmonton (AB); 2003 (revised 2008). [72]
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Italian Journal of Pediatrics

ISSN: 1824-7288

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