Feng Lu,1,* Yangyang Wang,2,* Fangyu Miao,3 Chengzhou Han,2 Xiangming Meng2 

1Department of Emergency Medicine, Affiliated Huishan Hospital of Xinglin College, Nantong University, Wuxi Huishan District People’s Hospital, Wuxi, 214187, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Otolaryngology, Affiliated Huishan Hospital of Xinglin College, Nantong University, Wuxi Huishan District People’s Hospital, Wuxi, 214187, People’s Republic of China; 3Information Centre, Affiliated Huishan Hospital of Xinglin College, Nantong University, Wuxi Huishan District People’s Hospital, Wuxi, 214187, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Xiangming Meng, Department of Otolaryngology, Affiliated Huishan Hospital of Xinglin College, Nantong University, Wuxi Huishan District People’s Hospital, 2 Zhanqian North Road, Luoshe Town, Huishan District, Wuxi, 214187, People’s Republic of China, Email xiangming_meng@hotmail.com

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of acute epiglottitis (AE) patients in East China and examine the correlation between the incidence of AE and the 24 solar terms (24 STs).
Methods: A retrospective, observational study was conducted on patients diagnosed with AE between January 2014 and December 2021 at a single-center medical institution in East China. The clinical characteristics of patients with AE and their correlation with the 24 STs were investigated.
Results: A total of 287 patients with AE were included in this study, among which there were 179 males (62.37%) and 108 females (37.63%), with a mean age of 47.79 ± 13.83 years (range 16– 87 years). Of these patients, 100 (34.84%) had at least one comorbidity and the most common comorbidities were hypertension, smoking and type 2 diabetes. The duration of hospitalization was 3 days (IQR, 1– 16 days). All patients, except for one who required tracheal intubation, were cured with intravenous antibiotic administration and the combined use of corticosteroids. The incidence of AE showed significant fluctuations between the 24 STs and the highest number of cases occurred during the Summer solstice (24 cases, 8.36%).
Conclusion: The incidence of AE was seen to increase annually in this study. The main features of AE are sore throat, dysphagia, odynophagia and fever, which may be accompanied by inflammation in surrounding areas. A clear correlation exists between the incidence of AE and the fluctuations within the 24 STs, notably with the peak incidence observed during the Summer solstice, which approximately corresponds to June 21 to July 7 in the Gregorian calendar.

Keywords: acute epiglottitis, 24 solar terms, seasonal variations, incidence, summer solstice