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A 4 years old boy presents complaints of dysphagia, fever, drooling, and muffled voice. Symptoms have progressively worsened over the course of the day. He is toxic-appearing, and leans forward while sitting on his mother’s lap. He is drooling, and speaks with a muffled “hot potato” voice. The parents deny trauma or evidence of foreign body ingestion. What are the most important differential diagnoses?

January 5, 2021 4:37 am Published by

Of the relevant differential diagnoses, it is important to rule out diptheriae, peritonsillar or retropharyngeal abscess and foreign body aspiration.

A 45 years old man presents with hoarseness for 5 days, cough, and pain on swallowing. He has no fever but complains of increased mucus in his throat and occasional difficulty breathing. He has no prior history of hoarseness, surgery to the larynx, intubation, or vocal abuse. He has slight throat pain but denies reflux symptoms. On examination, there is no acute respiratory distress. His oral cavity is within normal limits, but the oropharynx shows hyperemia. The tonsils are slightly enlarged and erythema. Mirror examination of the larynx reveals diffuse edema and erythema of the laryngeal structures, with increased mucus in the glottis, but the airway is patent. What potential sequelae do you need to be concerned about?

January 5, 2021 4:35 am Published by

Airway obstruction

A 45 years old man presents with hoarseness for 5 days, cough, and pain on swallowing. He has no fever but complains of increased mucus in his throat and occasional difficulty breathing. He has no prior history of hoarseness, surgery to the larynx, intubation, or vocal abuse. He has slight throat pain but denies reflux symptoms. On examination, there is no acute respiratory distress. His oral cavity is within normal limits, but the oropharynx shows hyperemia. The tonsils are slightly enlarged and erythema. Mirror examination of the larynx reveals diffuse edema and erythema of the laryngeal structures, with increased mucus in the glottis, but the airway is patent. What are the most important differential diagnoses?

January 5, 2021 4:34 am Published by

Of the relevant differential diagnoses, it is important to rule out laryngeal cancer, diphtheria and laryngotracheobronchitis.

A 45 years old man presents with hoarseness for 5 days, cough, and pain on swallowing. He has no fever but complains of increased mucus in his throat and occasional difficulty breathing. He has no prior history of hoarseness, surgery to the larynx, intubation, or vocal abuse. He has slight throat pain but denies reflux symptoms. On examination, there is no acute respiratory distress. His oral cavity is within normal limits, but the oropharynx shows hyperemia. The tonsils are slightly enlarged and erythema. Mirror examination of the larynx reveals diffuse edema and erythema of the laryngeal structures, with increased mucus in the glottis, but the airway is patent. What is the most likely diagnosis?

January 5, 2021 4:33 am Published by

Laryngitis

A 40 years old woman presents with a history of progressively decreased hearing in her left ear over the past few years. She has recently notice intermittent dizziness, tinnitus in the left ear and vague left-sided headaches. On examination, sound localizes to her right ear on Weber test and rinne test is normal. What are the most important differential diagnoses?

January 5, 2021 4:30 am Published by

Of the relevant differential diagnoses, it is important to rule out meningioma, cholesteatoma and Meniere’s disease. Other causes of vertigo... View Article

A 76 years old man complains of decreased hearing in his right ear for the past 2 weeks associated with a full feeling in that ear. He has been wearing hearing aids for the past 10 years and tried changing the battery, but his symptoms persisted. He reports occasional sticky yellow drainage from the right east for the last few weeks, which he attempted to clean using cotton-tipped applicators. On physical exam the left tympanic membrane cannot be visualized due to the presence of sticky yellow wax in the ear canal. Only a minimal amount of cerumen is present in the left ear canal. What potential sequelae do you need to be concerned about?

January 5, 2021 4:28 am Published by

Delayed speech development in children and external otitis

A 76 years old man complains of decreased hearing in his right ear for the past 2 weeks associated with a full feeling in that ear. He has been wearing hearing aids for the past 10 years and tried changing the battery, but his symptoms persisted. He reports occasional sticky yellow drainage from the right east for the last few weeks, which he attempted to clean using cotton-tipped applicators. On physical exam the left tympanic membrane cannot be visualized due to the presence of sticky yellow wax in the ear canal. Only a minimal amount of cerumen is present in the left ear canal. What are the most important differential diagnoses?

January 5, 2021 4:28 am Published by

Of the relevant differential diagnoses, it is important to rule out osteoma, otosclerosis, tympanosclerosis, cholesteatoma and tympanic membrane perforation.