A 2 years old boy presents with sudden onset of a cough, accompanied by clear nasal discharge. He has had mild symptoms of an upper respiratory infection for the last 2 days, but his parents became alarmed when his breathing became labored. On examination, he has a seal-like barky cough and inspiratory stridor when at rest, which worsens twitch agitation. Persistent sternal indrawing is also evident at rest. What are the most important differential diagnoses?

Of the relevant differential diagnoses, it is important to rule out neoplasm, epiglottitis, diphtheriae and retropharyngeal or peritonsillar abscess.

Categorised in:

This post was written by Omar Rifai