Pediatric case report: acute respiratory failure of initially unknown etiology

Abstract

Acute respiratory failure represents a syndrome with a persistent high rate of mortality and morbidity among the pediatric population. Therefore, a rapid therapeutic intervention is of paramount importance. The frequent etiology in children is the occlusion of upper respiratory airways as a result of bronchospasm, foreign body or tumor. We present a case of a child with a sinusochoanal polyp of impressive dimensions which produced a symptomatology with acute onset. Sinusochoanal polyp are benign tumors which originate from paranasal sinuses with a frequency of 4-6% among nasal polyps, are solitary and occur especially in males. The case intrigues through its atypical debut and symptomatology, given the dimensions of the polyp.