Croup medical therapy
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
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Medical Therapy
The treatment of croup depends on the severity of symptoms.
One of the simplest ways to treat croup is to inhale hot steam. This was the sole treatment for croup throughout the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century. Hospitals today use a "blowby" apparatus for this purpose. Simpler remedies include taking the child outside in moist night air, or alternatively exposing the child to steam from a hot bath or a humidifier. These techniques may help in some cases, but there is little hard evidence to support their efficacy.
Mild croup with no stridor, or stridor only on agitation, and just a cough may simply be observed, or a dose of inhaled, oral, or injected steroids may be given. When steroids are given, dexamethasone is often used, due to its prolonged physiologic effects.
Moderate to severe croup may require nebulized adrenaline in addition to steroids. Oxygen may be needed if hypoxia develops. Children with moderate or severe croup are typically hospitalized for observation, usually for less than a day. Intubation is rarely needed (less than 1% of hospitalized patients).