Studies of respiratory stridor in young children: acoustical analyses and tests of a theoretical model.

Non-invasive procedures are proposed to aid the diagnosis of childhood laryngotracheal pathology and to monitor the course of such disease. The procedures capitalize on the one-to-one relationship which exists between the acoustic phenomena (stridors) associated with respiration and the configuration of the respiratory tract. Careful analysis of these acoustic patterns can thus assist in identifying and localizing constrictions, in diagnosis, and in monitoring disease severity. Based on the acoustical analysis of the stridor generated by children with congenital stridor, subglottal laryngitis, and trachea stenosis, the present paper demonstrates that a close relationship exists between the specific pathology and the spectrum of the associated respiratory stridor.