What’s That Sound? Maybe It’s Stridor

Guest: Shelagh A. Cofer, M.D. (@ShelaghCoferMD)

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. (@ChutkaMD)

Stridor is a musical sound due to disrupted airflow in an individual’s airway. In many instances it’s due to a benign cause but it can also represent a serious problem, possibly even life-threatening. In today’s podcast, we’ll learn about the various causes of stridor and when we need to be concerned that it represents a serious health issue. Our guest for this podcast is Dr. Shelagh Cofer, a pediatric otolaryngology specialist at the Mayo Clinic. We’ll discuss how stridor differs from wheezing, the most common causes of stridor in both children and adults and what symptoms we should be watching for that might suggest a serious cause for stridor. We’ll also cover the evaluation of patients with stridor, which imaging studies may be helpful and when an ENT consultation is warranted.

Specific topics:

• Definition of stridor
• Difference between stridor, stertor, and wheezing
• Most common causes of stridor in both children and adults
• Croup as a form of stridor
• Important questions we should be asking our patients about stridor to identify those at risk for airway obstruction – including the SPECS-R mnemonic
• Tests and imaging studies which may be helpful in the evaluation of a patient with stridor
• Treatments for the more common causes of stridor

Additional resources:

• Zoumalan, R; Maddalozzo, J; Holinger, LD. Etiology of stridor in infants. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2007; 116(5):329-334. doi: 10.1.1896.429 https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.896.429&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd.