Paediatric Airway Management, Respiratory Emergencies, and Foreign Body Aspiration — WACS Viva & Clinical Scenarios (Paediatrics & Day Care)

Exam-style paediatric airway management, respiratory emergencies, and foreign body aspiration viva scenarios with examiner probes and model answers for…

Scenarios covered

• SCENARIO 1: An 18-month-old toddler presents with a 24-hour history of sudden coughing, unilateral right-sided wheeze, and intercostal retractions after playing with groundnuts. Chest radiograph demonstrates right lung hyperinflation and mediastinal shift to the left on expiration. Detail your preoperative evaluation, induction strategy, and intraoperative ventilation technique during rigid bronchoscopy.
• SCENARIO 2: A 3-year-old unimmunised child presents at 2:00 AM with severe inspiratory stridor, high fever (39.8°C), toxic appearance, drooling of saliva, and preference for sitting forward in a tripod position. Outline your step-by-step immediate and anaesthetic management, including airway rescue options if complete laryngospasm or total airway obstruction occurs.
• SCENARIO 3: A 9-month-old infant weighing 8 kg with severe croup (laryngotracheobronchitis) has failed medical therapy with nebulised adrenaline and dexamethasone, showing lethargy, cyanosis on room air, and sternal indrawing. How do you safely intubate this child, what tube selection criteria do you apply, and how do you monitor and manage the airway post-intubation?
• SCENARIO 4: A 5-year-old child presents with a massive retropharyngeal abscess causing significant positional stridor and dysphagia. How do you plan and execute the induction of anaesthesia, secure the airway without rupturing the abscess into the trachea, and manage extubation?