SEVERE INFLAMMATORY UPPER AIRWAY STENOSIS IN ULCERATIVE-COLITIS

Severe upper airway stenosis was diagnosed in a 23 year old woman who presented with hoarseness, cough and dyspnoea 8 yrs after initial diag nosis of ulcerative colitis. The respiratory symptoms worsened over th e next few months, the patient eventually developing dysphagia and ult imately severe upper airway obstruction. The narrowest site was the gl ottis, which was severely stenosed by inflammatory swellings. Systemic corticosteroids led to rapid clinical improvement and restoration of normal airway patency within a few months. Ulcerative colitis is frequ ently associated with extraintestinal inflammatory manifestations. In the respiratory tract these usually take the form of chronic bronchiti s, which occasionally develops into bronchiectasis. This case confirms that the inflammation can also involve the larynx and large airways.