Algorithm for the management of nasal obstruction in neonates and infants

The main cause of nasal obstruction in neonates and infants is inflammatory or infectious rhinitis. Congenital, neoplastic, traumatic or iatrogenic causes are less frequent. The pediatrician will alert to signs and symptoms of diseases less common but serious which should be diagnosed early. We present a proposal of simple algorithm for the management of unilateral and bilateral nasal obstruction in neonates and infants. We describe the pathologies that cause nasal respiratory failure, either those that occur very often or those which are important for their severity, their guiding symptoms to the presumptive diagnosis, additional studies and treatment.