Laryngotracheobronchitis
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- Laryngotracheobronchitis, also known as "croup", results in combined acute infection of the larynx, trachea, and epiglottis. Croup is almost exclusively a disease of infants between 6mo-3yrs and is caused by an acute viral infection, in many cases with Parainfluenza Virus. Clinically, it croup manifests as a harsh, "barking" cough along with inspiratory stridor. A common diagnostic tool is radiography of the neck which shows severe narrowing of the proximal airways, yielding the "steeple sign". Narrowing can be so severe as to cause airway obstruction and thus death.