Appraise explanations for Sammy’s difficulty breathing and wheezing.

Sammy, age 3 years, ate his dinner and then said his tummy hurt. His mother suggested he lie down in the adjacent room while his parents finished dinner. A few minutes later, they heard Sammy vomiting. His mother rushed in to lift Sammy up. When vomiting ceased, they noticed Sammy continued to cough and seemed to be choking. He was struggling to breathe and a wheezing sound was obvious. It appeared that he had aspirated some vomitus. His parents drove him to a nearby hospital for examination.

1. Analyze the specific effects of aspirating vomitus on Sammy, including the probable effects on his bronchi and lungs, and why might one lung be affected more than the other.

2. Appraise explanations for Sammy’s difficulty breathing and wheezing.

3. Discriminate the pathophysiologic changes causing the manifestations.