TY - JOUR T1 - Severe inflammatory upper airway stenosis in ulcerative colitis JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 1899 LP - 1902 DO - 10.1183/09031936.94.07101899 VL - 7 IS - 10 AU - H Rickli AU - C Fretz AU - M Hoffman AU - A Walser AU - A Knoblauch Y1 - 1994/10/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/7/10/1899.abstract N2 - Severe upper airway stenosis was diagnosed in a 23 year old woman who presented with hoarseness, cough and dyspnoea 8 yrs after initial diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. The respiratory symptoms worsened over the next few months, the patient eventually developing dysphagia and ultimately severe upper airway obstruction. The narrowest site was the glottis, 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 frequently associated with extraintestinal inflammatory manifestations. In the respiratory tract these usually take the form of chronic bronchitis, which occasionally develops into bronchiectasis. This case confirms that the inflammation can also involve the larynx and large airways. ER -