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Emergency casebooks
Achalasia: an unusual cause of airway obstruction
  1. S R Bruijns,
  2. A Hicks
  1. Emergency Department, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK
  1. Dr S R Bruijns, Emergency Department, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK; scbruijns{at}googlemail.com

Abstract

Achalasia is a disorder of the lower oesophageal sphincter and the smooth musculature of the oesophageal body. Although oesophageal obstruction is common, concurrent airway obstruction is exceptional. A case is presented of a 79-year-old woman admitted to the emergency department requiring intubation following out-of-hospital airway obstruction and subsequent respiratory arrest.

https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.2008.063982

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    Footnotes

    • Funding: None.

    • Competing interests: None.

    • Patient consent: Obtained.

    • Contributors: SRB had the original idea, collected the data and wrote the first draft. AH contributed to the final draft. SRB is the guarantor of this paper.