Croup Clinical Pathways

Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Croup Clinical Pathways provides guidance on the evaluation and treatment of pediatric patients with croup.  These pathways will help providers care for patients presenting with croup in primary care clinics, urgent care clinics, emergency departments, and inpatient units.

Croup clinical pathways

• Croup

About our croup clinical pathways

The croup clinical pathways offer best practice recommendations for patients with croup. They were created by our multidisciplinary team of content experts (including primary care, urgent care, emergency, hospital, and critical care medicine as well as our pharmacists and respiratory therapists).  The team reviewed published literature, best practice guidelines from other institutions and integrated local expert opinion when necessary. 

These pathways offer a standardized approach to the diagnosis and management of croup.  Recent updates include:

• Clear observation times for patients who have received racemic epinephrine
• Focus on ensuring patients are observed long enough for steroids to take effect prior to deciding if a patient needs admission
• Highlighting unnecessary testing
• Efforts to decrease interfacility transfers and admissions