What Are Treatments for Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis?

Discussion Human papilloma virus (HPV) is a member of the Papillomaviridae virus family with over a 150 different subtypes. HPV can cause cervical, genital and respiratory tract papillomas. HPV is often benign but can cause anogenital, cervical and head and neck cancers. Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is uncommon but can cause significant morbidity while awaiting the body’s immune system to respond. There is a juvenile and adult form, and the incidence varies between 2-4/100,000 in the pediatric population. The juvenile form frequently occurs between 3.6-6 years of age and in general the younger the patient, the more severe the disease. The RRP papillomas are histologically benign, exophytic lesions occurring after the virus invades the epithelial keratinocytes but because of the location and increased recurrence risk, can lead to phonologic and respiratory problems which can be severe. The larynx (with the glottis, supraglottis and subglottis affected in this order) is always involved with trachea (3-26%), bronchi and distal lung structures (1-3%) decreasing in involvement. The esophagus can also be involved. RRP is most commonly caused by types 6 and 11 with type 11 having more severe disease, whereas the oncogenic serotypes are often 16, 18 and 33. Transmission is thought to be mainly vertical transmission with exposure to maternal genital lesions. However, infants born by cesarean section can have RRP and the virus has been found in amniotic fluid and pl...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news