== Clinical Summary ==

This 4-year-old black female had an upper respiratory infection and a sore throat with increasing difficulty in breathing. Membranous exudate over one tonsil led to a working diagnosis of diphtheria, and the child was admitted. On the day of her admission, the child developed signs of respiratory tract obstruction and a tracheotomy was performed. However, the procedure was unable to establish a patent airway and the child died.

== Images ==