Abstract
Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of infant
congenital tongue base cysts. Methods: This retrospective study involved
37 infants with congenital tongue base cysts in our hospital. Results:
The median age at admission was 95 (15-360) d for these babies. The main
clinical manifestations were laryngeal stridor (33/37 89.2%), dyspnea
(8/37 21.6%), inspiratory trisomy (6/37 16.2%), and choking and
vomiting milk (14/37 37.8%). Eight cases (21.6%) were misdiagnosed as
laryngomalacia in another hospital, while 4 cases (10.8%) were
misdiagnosed as pneumonia. One case required emergency intubation for
rescue due to dyspnea before surgery. The root of the tongue was found
to occupy space during intubation. Six cases (16.2%) had cysts found
through CT examination. Three cases (8%) had cysts found during
bronchoscopy due to pneumonia. The remaining cysts were found in the
root of the tongue through laryngoscopy. Laryngoscopy was performed in
all children before the operation, and CT examination in 28 patients
before the operation showed that the median diameter of the cyst was 10
mm (5-20 mm), All children underwent radiofrequency ablation of glossal
root cysts through laryngoscopy. Eight patients were transferred to the
intensive care unit (ICU) for treatment post-operatively. The median
intubation time was 4.5 days (2-5 days). Conclusion: Infancy congenital
tongue base cysts have an early onset and atypical clinical
manifestations. Electronic laryngoscopy combined with neck CT should be
performed promptly in patients with laryngeal stridor and feeding
difficulty to facilitate accurate diagnosis, and timely surgery is
needed.