Surgery

Etiology

Fibrosis

Cardiology

Hypoxia (environmental)

Airway

Intubation

Organic chemistry

Oxygen

Inflammation

Stenosis

Internal medicine

Pathological

Subglottic stenosis

Medicine

Chemistry

Pathogenesis

Pathology

European Respiratory Review

Subglottic stenosis (SGS) is a narrowing of the airway just below the vocal cords. This narrowing typically consists of fibrotic scar tissue, which may be due to a variety of diseases. This review focuses on post-intubation (PI) SGS. SGS can result in partial or complete narrowing of the airway. This narrowing is caused by fibrosis and can cause serious breathing difficulties. It can occur in both adults and children. The pathogenesis of post-intubation SGS is not well understood; however, it is considered to be the product of an abnormal healing process. This review discusses how intubation can change the local micro-environment, leading to dysregulated tissue repair. We discuss how mucosal inflammation, local hypoxia and biomechanical stress associated with intubation can promote excess tissue deposition that occurs during the pathological process of SGS.

Post-intubation subglottic stenosis: aetiology at the cellular and molecular level