Stridor

What it means

Stridor is a high pitched sound resulting from turbulent air flow in the upper airway.

Stridor is different from wheezing by the following reasons. It is louder over the neck than chest wall. Secondly; stridor is mainly inspiratory. If occurs in expiration, it is usually biphasic. On the other hand; wheeze is mainly expiratory and occurs during both phases. It indicates extrathoracic upper-airway obstruction (supraglottic lesions like laryngomalacia, vocal cord lesion) when heard on inspiration. It occurs in expiration if associated with intrathoracic tracheobronchial lesions (tracheomalacia, bronchomalacia, and extrinsic compression). It occurs in both phases if lesion is fixed, for example, stenosis. Stridor is caused by the turbulent flow passing through a narrowed segment of the upper respiratory tract.

Rare diseases that can present with this26

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Noisy breathing