Ear, nose & throat · UKMLA & AKT
Acute upper airway obstruction in adults
A free high-yield preview for the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test, covering how to recognise this condition. The full SA Note notes add investigations, management and complications, with practice questions on this topic.
Key high-yield points
- Stridor - high-pitched audible noise; inspiratory = supraglottic, biphasic = glottic/subglottic
- Dysphonia/hoarseness - laryngeal involvement; muffled 'hot potato' voice = supraglottic swelling
- Dysphagia and drooling - inability to swallow secretions; classic in epiglottitis and Ludwig's angina
- Respiratory distress - tachypnoea, accessory muscle use, tracheal tug, intercostal recession
- Cyanosis - late, pre-terminal sign
- Agitation or altered consciousness - hypoxia/hypercapnia; a suddenly quiet, still patient is ominous
Signs of impending complete obstruction - act immediately: silent chest with no audible stridor, cyanosis, paradoxical chest-wall movement, loss of consciousness or extreme exhaustion, complete inability to vocalise.
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