Respiratory infections and vascular rings.

Recurrent respiratory infections after the first years of life are not easily related to vascular rings as the cause of these infections. Therefore six cases of older children are presented in whom a vascular ring was the cause of their respiratory problems. None of them ever had stridor or swallowing problems in early infancy, and recurrent respiratory infections occurred later in life as a symptom of a vascular ring. Unfamiliarity with this association caused a delay in diagnosis and treatment in two patients and persistent lung damage in one child. Five of the 6 children recovered well after operation. The diagnosis can be made at an early stage if close inspection of the outline of the trachea on the chest radiograph shows an impression from the right side.