Acute pharyngolaryngitis is a common cold that occurs in both adults and children. There is hardly a person who has never been ill with it. Therefore, it is so important to know the causes of this disease, its symptoms, methods of diagnosis and treatment. This is what this article will be about.
Basic information
Acute pharyngolaryngitis - what is it? It is a disease of viral, bacterial or fungal origin. It is characterized by a combined lesion of the pharynx and larynx.
With timely treatment and adherence to the regimen, this disease does not pose a threat. But if you do not pay attention to it, the inflammation spreads to the trachea, bronchi with the development of tracheitis and bronchitis. Initially, a viral disease can be complicated by the addition of pathogenic bacterial microflora. Therefore, the treatment of the disease should be started as early as possible.
There is no single code for acute pharyngolaryngitis according to ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases). This is due to the fact that this pathologicalprocess cannot be called an independent diagnosis. It is more of a syndrome that occurs with a variety of upper respiratory tract infections.
The combined nature of the syndrome also prevents it from being assigned a separate code. Therefore, acute pharyngolaryngitis in the ICD can be found in two sections:
- acute pharyngitis - code J02, which is divided into subspecies depending on the pathogen;
- acute laryngitis and tracheitis - code J04, also subdivided into subtypes.
Classification
Depending on the type of pathogen, acute pharyngolaryngitis is divided into:
- Adenoviral. Typical for young children. In addition to, in fact, the defeat of the pharynx and larynx, there is conjunctivitis, fever, swollen lymph nodes.
- Enterovirus. Accompanied by blistering rashes on the throat, fever.
- Cytomegalovirus. Minor sore throat accompanied by severe prolonged fever.
- Herpetic. With rashes in the form of painful blisters all over the mouth.
- Respiratory syncytial. The upper and lower airways are affected.
- In HIV-infected people. It proceeds according to the type of herpetic or fungal infection of the oropharynx. Accompanied by lethargy, diarrhea, rashes, weight loss.
Causes of disease
In the vast majority of cases, acute pharyngolaryngitis is of viral origin. Its development is especially characteristic in acute viral childhood infections:
- measles;
- whooping cough;
- rubella;
- scarlet fever;
- diphtheria.
Especially severe inflammation of the pharynx and larynx is in patients with infectious mononucleosis. It is accompanied by a deterioration in the general condition of the patient, an increase in lymph nodes, liver and spleen, a rash on the body.
Possible and bacterial origin of the disease. For example, with purulent tonsillitis. Although this disease predominantly affects the tonsils, in severe cases, the entire oropharynx is involved in the process.
Fungal infection of the larynx and pharynx is typical for people with impaired immune system function. For example, in HIV-infected people.
Provoking factors
Viruses or bacteria can enter the human body without causing the development of acute pharyngolaryngitis on the horizon. But there are a number of provoking factors that increase the risk of the disease:
- hypothermia;
- chronic stress;
- excessive exercise;
- constant drinking too hot or too cold drinks;
- smoking;
- alcohol abuse.
The above factors either reduce the body's overall resistance (hypothermia, stress, exercise) or damage local barriers in the pharynx and larynx (smoking, alcohol, hot and cold drinks).
Main symptoms
Symptoms of acute pharyngolaryngitis include a clinic of lesions of the larynx and pharynx, since the verythe disease is a combination of inflammation of these two organs. The most characteristic symptoms of the disease:
- cough without sputum;
- itching and other discomfort in the throat;
- voice changes: hoarseness, change in timbre up to loss;
- feeling in the throat, as if someone stuck;
- persistent sore throat that gets worse when swallowing.
Additional symptoms
Often inflammation of the nasopharynx and upper respiratory tract is not isolated. Depending on the pathogen and the type of disease, the following symptoms may be attached:
- runny nose;
- wheezing in the bronchi when breathing;
- headache;
- deterioration of general condition, weakness;
- increased body temperature;
- skin rash;
- enlarged lymph nodes.
Special attention should be paid to the symptom of swollen lymph nodes. After all, depending on which of their groups are involved in the process, one can roughly judge the disease. Almost always, during acute pharyngolaryngitis, the lymph nodes that are located near the larynx and pharynx increase. They are also called regional lymph nodes. These are the parotid, submandibular groups.
But with some pathologies, other groups are involved in the process:
- infectious mononucleosis - extensive enlargement of almost all lymph nodes;
- measles - enlarged occipital and cervical lymph nodes.
- rubella - defeat of the cervical group.
Thus, already one symptom cansuspect the development of a certain viral infection.
Diagnosis of the disease: objective examination
When making a diagnosis, the doctor first of all conducts a detailed conversation with the patient. He asks him about complaints, learns about the onset of the disease and its development in dynamics. He is also interested in whether the patient has taken any medications on his own. Only after a detailed conversation, the doctor proceeds to an objective examination.
The most important thing at this stage is to examine the patient's throat. The doctor can see a different picture depending on the form of the disease. So, for acute catarrhal pharyngolaryngitis, the presence of redness and swelling is characteristic. You can see the vascular network and small spots on the back of the pharynx. Typically, such changes are observed in the viral etiology of inflammation.
With purulent pharyngolaryngitis, white plaque and swelling are visible. Perhaps the formation of abscesses or phlegmon. This pattern is characteristic of bacterial inflammation.
In addition to examining the throat, the doctor palpates the lymph nodes. It determines their size, texture, pain. Also carefully examines the skin and mucous membranes for the presence of rashes.
Laboratory and instrumental diagnostics
Only after a thorough conversation and examination of the patient, it is possible to use additional diagnostic methods. First of all, the patient is sent for a general blood test. The results of the analysis may lead the doctor to the cause of the disease.
Whena viral infection is determined by a decrease in the level of leukocytes with an increase in the number of lymphocytes and monocytes. Bacterial is characterized by a sharp increase in the level of leukocytes due to neutrophils.
If necessary, the doctor prescribes a bacteriological examination of a smear from the pharynx and larynx. This method consists of inoculating a smear on a nutrient medium in order to find out the type of bacteria that caused the disease.
Instrumental diagnostics is necessary to determine the condition of the lung tissue. For this purpose, a fluorography or X-ray of the chest organs is performed.
Non-drug therapy
Treatment of acute pharyngolaryngitis consists not only in taking medications, but also in non-drug measures. Among them:
- strict bed rest;
- quit smoking and alcohol;
- correction of nutrition with refusal of food that injures the mucous membrane of the oral cavity (too cold and hot dishes, coarse food, spices, sour fruits).
- large amount of liquid, but not very hot, up to 50 °C;
- constant ventilation of the room where the patient is;
- maintaining a temperature of 20 ° C in this room.
Drug therapy: etiotropic
All treatment of pharyngolaryngitis with drugs can be divided into two large groups: etiotropic and symptomatic. Etiotropic treatment is to eliminate the cause of the disease, and symptomatic - to improve the patient's condition by alleviatingsymptoms.
Drugs used for etiotropic therapy are selected depending on the causative agent of the disease. Antiviral drugs are needed to treat a viral infection, antibiotics for a bacterial infection, and antifungal drugs for a fungal infection.
Particular attention should be paid to the etiotropic treatment of acute pharyngolaryngitis in children, as this is a characteristic syndrome for many childhood infections.
| Disease name | Drugs for etiotropic therapy |
| Measles | Not available |
| Rubella | Not available |
| Chickenpox | "Aciclovir" |
| Scarlet fever | Antibiotics: penicillins, macrolides, first-second generation cephalosporins |
| Pseudotuberculosis | Antibiotics: third-fourth generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones |
Drug therapy: symptomatic
Etiotropic therapy does not exist for all diseases, and even if it exists, then its effect does not occur immediately. Therefore, drugs are needed that will alleviate the patient's condition before the pathogen leaves his body. These drugs are selected individually, depending on the patient's complaints:
- antipyretic at high temperature ("Paracetamol", "Ibuprofen");
- antiseptic and analgesic sprays in the throat ("Geksoral", "Oracept", "Akvalor");
- mucolytics in the presence of sputum that is notclears his throat ("Muk altin", "ACC", "Mukosolvin");
- antitussives - depress the cough center in the brain, are prescribed for very strong cough, as in whooping cough ("Codelac", "Erespal");
- expectorants are prescribed together with mucolytics to improve sputum discharge ("Ambroxol", "Ambrobene");
- vasoconstrictor nasal drops for nasal congestion and runny nose ("Aqualor", "Aqua-Maris").
- antihistamines - for infections accompanied by a rash ("Loratadine").
Important! Mucolytics should not be given to children under two years of age. Also, they should not be prescribed together with antitussives.
Preventive measures
Any disease is better to prevent than to treat later. To prevent the development of acute pharyngolaryngitis, you must adhere to the following rules:
- regularly check the condition of the teeth at the dentist, as chronic foci of infection in the teeth can provoke relapses of inflammatory diseases of the oropharynx;
- avoid hypothermia;
- vaccinate children according to the national immunization schedule;
- avoid severe stress and physical exertion;
- to minimize contact with sick respiratory viral infections;
- observe the rules of personal hygiene;
- adults should stop smoking and limit their alcohol intake.
Even strict adherence to these rules cannot protect against acute pharyngolaryngitis. After all, we never know with whom we are traveling in transport or walking side by side on the street. And any person is subject to stress and mental stress. Therefore, if you notice symptoms of pharyngolaryngitis in yourself, you should not delay. Timely prescribed treatment relieves the disease in less than a week!
