Unusual Cause of Stridor in an Adult Man, Selective Immunoglobulin A Deficiency

Abstract

The common causes of stridor in adults are abscesses or swelling of the upper airway, tumors, paralysis, or malfunction of vocal cords. Tracheitis due to immunoglobulin deficiency may be a rare explanation for stridor in adults, although occasionally reported in children. We report an adult man having stridor secondary to isolated immunoglobulin A deficiency. We did an in-depth review of the literature to seek out no reported cases of stridor thanks to immunoglobulin deficiency in adults. This case underlines the very fact that a standard symptom like stridor rarely occurs thanks to uncommon causes. This case is exclusive because it reports the presence of stridor associated with isolated immunoglobulin A deficiency in an adult patient. The explanation for the stridor was an intraluminal narrowing of the upper part of the extrathoracic trachea.