Flexible laryngoscopy in neonates, infants, and young children.

Flexible laryngoscopy was performed 453 times on 264 patients 4 years of age or younger. Sixty-five percent were under 6 months of age. Stridor was the indication for laryngoscopy in 60% of the patients. Problems secondary to intubation and poor voice each were indications in 12%. The most common finding was laryngomalacia, followed by laryngeal edema, normal larynges, and vocal cord paralysis or paresis. Subglottic stenosis was diagnosed in 17 patients. Flexible laryngoscopy is a relatively noninvasive, safe, and effective technique for examining the larynx of infants and young children.