Hi, Stephan and all the members!
In our unit we ran across the case of congenital laryngomalacia, associated with minor brain abnormalities (cariotype 46XX).
This baby required intubation immediately after birth because of stridor, then was ventilated for 18 days. Several attempts to extubate the baby within 72 hours after birth failed. Our surgeons performed laryngotracheoscopy and the diagnosis of laryngomalacia was established. They recommended 14-day course of prednisolone 1 mg/kg/day for larynx maturation and then repeated extubation. Now baby is 1 month old, spontaneously breathing through ETT. We tried 2 attempts of extub on nCPAP mode, but severe stridor signs occurred and reintubation was needed. The questions are: 1) do steroids really maturate the laryngeal cartilages? If yes what do the indications for repeated course look like? 2) what kind of respiratory support is preferable for this baby? What are the criteria for tracheostomy? 3) If someone had such an experience, what are the possible outcomes?
Thanks for all of you.