[Acute epiglottitis in adults: a rare cause of acute respiratory insufficiency].

Acute epiglottitis is an infective disease which may have a rapid and aggressive course to total upper airway obstruction. Due to its rarity (mostly in adults) and aspecific initial clinical features, it may present diagnostic problems to less experienced medical personnel. This is the principal reason why the mortality rate is still unacceptably high. Indirect or direct laryngoscopy is mandatory for diagnosis: as this might be difficult for non-specialist physicians, their awareness of the potentially severe consequences of epiglottic infections is fundamental to minimizing diagnostic delay. In fact, early involvement of experienced ENT and anaesthesiological staff is essential for diagnosis, which must be as prompt as possible and followed by thorough clinical monitoring to avoid fatal outcome.