Membranous laryngitis in a child

The most common etiologies for acute infectious airway obstruction include epiglottitis, croup, and bacterial tracheitis. We present a unique cause of upper airway obstruction in a child not previously described. To our knowledge this is the first case in the literature of membranous laryngitis in a child due to Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). The diagnosis was made by endoscopy and culture and treated with culture directed antibiotics and debridement of membranes from the larynx. The patient did not present with clinical symptoms consistent with epiglottitis as the disease course was not abrupt, and the patient did not present with classic posturing and drooling. Croup-like symptoms were described, but there was no evidence of subglottic involvement radiographically or on endoscopy. Additionally, there was no evidence of membranous plaques within the trachea or subglottis which would be suggestive of bacterial tracheitis. This unique finding is likely the result of MRSA superinfection in a child with Influenza type B.