{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T17:26:16Z","timestamp":1775150776575,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,20]],"date-time":"2021-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626739200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Few studies have been carried out with the aim of describing the clinical course and follow-up of patients with tracheomalacia. We aim to describe the symptoms at diagnosis and the post-treatment clinical course of patients affected by airway malacia. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed characteristics of pediatric patients with a diagnosis of airway malacia. Patients were classified into three groups: bronchomalacia (BM), tracheomalacia (TM) and tracheo-bronchomalacia (TBM). Demographic and clinical data, diagnostic work-up and surgical treatment were recorded. Results: 13\/42 patients were affected by congenital syndromes (30.9%). Esophageal atresia with or without tracheal-esophageal fistula (EA\/TEF) was detected in 7\/42 patients (16.7%). Cardiovascular anomalies were found in 9\/42 (21.4%) and idiopathic forms in 13\/42 (30.9%). BM occurred in 7\/42 (16.6%), TM in 23\/42 (54.7%) and TBM in 12\/42 (28.6%). At the diagnosis stage, a chronic cough was reported in 50% of cases with a higher prevalence in EA\/TEF (p = 0.005). Surgery was performed in 16\/42 (40%) of children. A chronic cough and acute respiratory failure were correlated to the need for surgery. During follow-up, there was no difference in persistence of symptoms between conservative vs surgical treatment (p = 0.47). Conclusion: the management of tracheomalacia remains a challenge for pediatricians. Clinical manifestations, such as a barking cough and acute respiratory failure may suggest the need for surgery. Follow-up is crucial, especially in those patients affected by comorbidities, so as to be able to manage effectively the possible persistence of symptoms, including those that may continue after surgical treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children8070613","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,20]],"date-time":"2021-07-20T05:10:59Z","timestamp":1626757859000},"page":"613","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Airway Malacia: Clinical Features and Surgical Related Issues, a Ten-Year Experience from a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7434-9112","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michele","family":"Ghezzi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Allergology and Pneumology Unit, V. Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2750-5810","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Enza","family":"D\u2019Auria","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Allergology and Pneumology Unit, V. Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Farolfi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Allergology and Pneumology Unit, V. Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2137-5974","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valeria","family":"Calcaterra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, V. Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"},{"name":"Pediatric and Adolescent Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alessandra","family":"Zenga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Allergology and Pneumology Unit, V. Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3128-8441","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annalisa","family":"De Silvestri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biometry & Clinical Epidemiology, Scientific Direction, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gloria","family":"Pelizzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Surgery, V. Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Clinical Science \u201cL. Sacco\u201d, University of Milan, 20157 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2795-9874","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gian Vincenzo","family":"Zuccotti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, V. Buzzi Children\u2019s Hospital, 20154 Milan, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Clinical Science \u201cL. Sacco\u201d, University of Milan, 20157 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.1513\/pats.200905-024CB","article-title":"Developmental aspects of the upper airway: Report from an NHLBI Workshop, March 5-6, 2009","volume":"6","author":"Marcus","year":"2009","journal-title":"Proc. Am. Thorac. Soc."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"512","DOI":"10.3389\/fped.2019.00512","article-title":"Tracheomalacia and tracheobronchomalacia in pediatrics: An overview of evaluation, medical management, and surgical treatment","volume":"7","author":"Kamran","year":"2019","journal-title":"Front. 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Cardiothorac Surg."}],"container-title":["Children"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-9067\/8\/7\/613\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T06:32:06Z","timestamp":1760164326000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-9067\/8\/7\/613"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,20]]},"references-count":25,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7]]}},"alternative-id":["children8070613"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/children8070613","relation":{},"ISSN":["2227-9067"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2227-9067","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,20]]}}}