The Clinical and Physiological Manifestations of the ‘Infantile’ Larynx: Natural History and Relationship to Mental Retardation

SUMMARY 51 infants with stridor due to an infantile larynx are reviewed. 4 were mentally retarded in varying degrees and in 3 of them there was an obvious cause for this, unrelated to the infantile larynx. The prognosis of the condition would appear to be good, both for physical and for mental development. The stridor usually disappeared by 2 years of age. Respiratory function studies demonstrated a marked increase in inspiratory resistance.