Scenario
A 58 year old woman presents to the emergency department complaining of a 5 day history of sore throat and progressive difficulty in swallowing.
Examination reveals she is febrile with stridor at rest. Oropharyngeal examination does not reveal an overt diagnosis.
Question
Describe your management. (100%)
Answer
FACEM SAQ Exam 2008.1 – Question 8
- The overall pass rate for this question was 52/62 (83.9%).
- Pass Criteria
- The examiners felt that this was a good high level discriminator which required the consideration of a number of possible options.
- Although most candidates demonstrated a safe approach to the management of the airway, few conveyed the understanding that not all such patients need to be intubated straight away.
- Features of unsuccessful answers
- Poor answers failed to deal with the basics of airway management in such a situation, failed to consider administering antibiotics and suggested potentially dangerous interventions such as CT scanning.
About Mike Cadogan
