Graft-vs-host disease as a cause of enlargement of the epiglottis in an immunocompromised child

We report a rare case of dyspnea due to enlargement of the epiglottis in a severely immunocompromised patient. The child underwent a previous tracheos tomy at another hospital because of respiratory distress under the diagnosi s of acute epiglottitis. The patient was subsequently decannulated without incident. One year later, the child developed a new episode of dyspnea with inspiratory strider. A new tracheostomy was neccessary, and a biopsy speci men of the enlarged epiglottis was taken to confirm the diagnosis of graft- vs-host disease. The therapeutic measures in these situations are discussed below, and a review Of the current literature concerning the etiology and management of epiglottic enlargement is performed.