Special considerations in epiglottitis in children.

The often perplexing clinical findings in acute epiglottitis are produced by the relative absence of cyanosis and hypercapnia in the face of severe hypoxemia, since expiration and CO2 elimination are not impaired. A serious situation arises when intubation is unseccessful. Six hundred otolaryngologists were polled to determine whether life-saving tracheotomy in such a situation could be performed within the time limits.