Neonatal Nasal Obstruction

Neonates are obligate nasal breathers. As a result, they are uniquely suspectable to nasal obstruction, particularly when bilateral, and can present with life-threatening respiratory distress, feeding concerns, or noisy breathing. The differential diagnosis for pediatric nasal obstruction is broad; nasal obstruction in the post-natal period can manifest in different levels of the nasal passageway and vary in laterality and severity. Clinicians must be able to quickly identify signs and symptoms, develop an appropriate differential diagnosis, and plan treatment to manage neonatal nasal obstruction. This review will use the newest literature to highlight common causes of neonatal nasal obstruction and discuss the epidemiology, presentation, associated problems, workup, management, and review controversial topics in neonatal obstruction. Neonatal nasal obstruction can be congenital; or secondary to neurogenic/neoplastic diseases, infectious processes, foreign bodies, inflammatory processes, or maternal factors; or can be indicative of underlying syndromic diseases.