Author: Abishek Ajay Kaul, Faisal Faruqi / Editor: Nick Tilbury / Codes: EC2, EP6, RC2, RP1, SLO1, SLO2, SLO3 / Published: 14/03/2023

A 67-year-old lady is brought into resus. The paramedics tell you she has been vomiting and shortly afterwards developed difficulty breathing and a new oxygen requirement. You suspect her to have acute aspiration. She is tachycardic, normotensive and tachypnoeic, on arrival. She is conscious and orientated but is markedly dysphonic. Her oropharynx looks slightly red but there is no evidence of exudate or quinsy.

She has a past medical history of hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She is normally mobile and independent.