The purpose of this paper is to review my general experience with cases of acute obstructive nondiphtheritic laryngitis, laryngotracheitis and laryngotracheobronchitis requiring tracheotomy.1 Although the disease is, fortunately, relatively uncommon, the fact that the mortality rate has ranged from 50 to 100 per cent, depending on the virulence of the infection and the type of treatment, makes its study important. In passing, it might be mentioned that in 1929 the condition in 60 per cent of all patients admitted to the Willard Parker Hospital for acute laryngeal obstruction was due to diphtheria, whereas in 1939 in only 10 per cent was the obstruction caused by infection with the diphtheria bacillus. Thus, the nondiphtheritic infections of the larynx, trachea and bronchi have assumed a much greater numerical importance.
The plan of this study is (1) to present a general statistical survey of the past decade; (2) to cite unusual occurrences