CALCIFICATION OF CARTILAGE IN THE TRACHEA AND LARYNX IN INFANCY ASSOCIATED WITH CONGENITAL STRIDOR

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Abstract
A 4½-month-old boy with calcification of the tracheal, hyoid and cricoid cartilages is reported. These changes were associated with laryngeal and tracheal narrowing and congenital stridor. No significant metabolic disturbance was demonstrated. Follow-up examinations of this patient up to the age of [unknown] years revealed progressive diminution of the stridor and a moderate reduction in the intensity of the cartilage calcification. The tracheal lumen returned to normal caliber. The patient's mother, at 37 years of age, showed laryngeal and tracheal calcification. We do not yet know if this is significant, but the possibility that the condition may be genetically determined must be considered. The etiology of this syndrome remains obscure. To our knowledge this is the third such case to be reported in the medical literature. It is suggested that an intrinsic congenital anomaly of the cartilage matrix in the affected areas may result in increased susceptibility to premature calcium deposition.

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