Acute Onset Dysphagia: Using Awake Fiberoptic Techniques to Avoid an Airway Disaster

Clinically, foreign body ingestion and aspiration can be difficult to differentiate from one another. Distinguishing the nuances in clinical presentation is important. Misdiagnosis can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Objects in the aerodigestive tract can become easily dislodged and travel into the airway if the wrong therapeutic intervention is performed. A few necessary definitions will be elucidated below.