Laryngotracheal Stenosis Management: A 16-Year Experience

In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that the laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) cohort comprises distinct etiological subgroups; however, treatment of the disease remains heterogeneous with limited research to date assessing predictors of treatment outcome. We aim to assess clinical and surgical predictors of endoscopic treatment outcome for LTS, as well as to further characterize the disease population. A retrospective chart review of adult patients with LTS presenting over a 16-year period was conducted. Seventy-five patients were identified and subdivided into 4 etiologic subgroups: iatrogenic, idiopathic, autoimmune, and “other” groups. Statistical comparison of iatrogenic and idiopathic groups was performed. Subsequently, stepwise logistic regression was employed to examine the association between clinical/surgical factors and treatment outcome, as measured by tracheostomy incidence and dependence. We demonstrate that patients with iatrogenic LTS were significantly more morbid (P <.001) and had worse disease, with significantly greater percentage stenosis (P =.015) and increased incidence of tracheostomy (P <.001). Analyzing the predictive effect of clinical and surgical variables on endoscopic treatment outcome, we have shown that when adjusted for age, sex, and iatrogenic etiology, patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologist score >2 were significantly more likely to undergo tracheostomy (adjusted odds ratio = 11.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.47-86.17). Similarly, when compared with their idiopathic counterparts, patients with iatrogenic LTS had higher odds of undergoing tracheostomy (17.33, 95% CI = 1.93-155.66) as were patients with Cotton-Myer grade 3-4 stenosis (9.84, 95% CI = 1.36-71.32). The odds of tracheostomy dependence at time of last follow-up were significantly higher in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (15.38, 95% CI = 1.36-174.43) and cerebrovascular accident (9.03, 95% CI = 1.01-81.08), even after adjustment. No surgical techniques were significantly associated with either outcome when adjusted. We present a heterogeneous LTS cohort comprised of homogeneous subgroups with distinct levels of morbidity, disease morphology, and treatment burden. Further our data suggest that the treatment outcome is more dependent on patient factors, rather than surgical technique used.