The patient is a 5-year-old female who developed severe respiratory distress with inspiratory stridor about 30 minutes ago. Her mother tells you that the child "seemed to be perfectly healthy" until about 3 hours earlier, when she began to complain of a severe sore throat. The patient is sitting on the side of her bed, leaning forward with her neck slightly extended. Respiratory distress with

accessory muscle use and intercostal retractions is present. The child is drooling profusely, and when she tries to talk, her voice sounds muffled. She is suffering from a life-threatening emergency due to potential:

a. seizures. c. airway obstruction.
b. cardiac dysrhythmias. d. respiratory arrest.

c