In the H influenzae type b vaccine era, acute epiglottitis in children has almost disappeared. The incidence in the adult population has been constant. A discriminate approach to airway management seems safe in adults.

As pre-operative diagnosis has a positive predictive value of 86 per cent, cystic lesions in the neck should be presumed to be carcinomatous until proven otherwise. Branchial fistulae and sinuses seem to be a disease of childhood, while branchial cysts occur mainly in adults. Branchial cleft anomalies are equally frequent in men and women, and equally distributed on the left and right side of the neck.