J Emerg Med
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The differential diagnosis of stridor in the pediatric population is broad and should include hypocalcemia with resultant laryngospasm. We present the case of a breast-fed infant who presented to the pediatric emergency department with profound stridor during the winter months because of hypocalcemia of undiagnosed rickets. The patient responded to intravenous calcium chloride with rapid resolution of symptoms. Emergency physicians should consider obtaining ionized calcium levels in pediatric patients with stridor, especially when standard therapies for more common causes of stridor are ineffective.
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Tension hydrothorax is rare, with few cases reported in the literature dating back to the late 1960s. We report a case of tension hydrothorax in a patient with a ventriculopleural shunt who improved dramatically after thoracentesis. The discussion includes a brief review of ventriculopleural shunts and pleural physiology.