Ribavirin treatment for juvenile respiratory papillomatosis.

Juvenile respiratory papillomatosis involving the tracheo-bronchial tree imposes a significant management problem and is sometimes life threatening. The mainstay of treatment is repeated vapourization with a CO 2 laser. To date, adjunctive medical treatments have been of limited value. A tracheostomized child with extensive laryngo-tracheo-bronchial papillomatosis who has required bronchoscopic lasering at two-weekly intervals for three years was treated with ribavirin, a broad spectrum anti-viral agent. The drug was administered in nebulized form using a small particle aerosol generator (S.P.A.G.) to the lower respiratory tract (6 gm/150 ml over nine hours) on three consecutive nights every two weeks over seven weeks and also administered orally (15 mg/kg/day)