Don't go barking up the wrong tree: Thinking beyond infection in a toddler with stridor.

A toddler presented to the emergency department with persistent stridor and barky cough for 4 weeks and progressive dysphagia for 1 week. During this time, he had sought medical attention 6 additional times and had been treated for pneumonia, wheezing and croup, receiving antibiotics and several courses of steroids without improvement. On the final presentation, airway imaging did not reveal a foreign body. However, bedside laryngoscopy demonstrated bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Further imaging revealed an intracranial posterior fossa mass which provided the unifying diagnosis for his persistent symptoms.