Diseases and Conditions
Epiglottitis
Overview
Symptoms
Causes
Risk factors
Complications
Prevention
Diagnosis
Treatment
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Complications
Epiglottitis can cause a number of complications, including:
- Respiratory failure. The epiglottis is a small, movable "lid" just above the larynx that prevents food and drink from entering your windpipe. But if the epiglottis becomes swollen — either from infection or from injury — the airway narrows and may become completely blocked. This can lead to respiratory failure — a life-threatening condition in which the level of oxygen in the blood drops dangerously low or the level of carbon dioxide becomes excessively high.
- Spreading infection. Sometimes the bacteria that cause epiglottitis cause infections elsewhere in the body, such as pneumonia, meningitis or a bloodstream infection.