Question

Choking of the respiratory passage by a bolus of food is known as?

• A. Gagging
• B. Overlying
• C. Cafe coronary
• D. Burking

Hint:

Sudden collapse while eating that mimics a heart attack but is actually airway blockage by food.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Cafe coronary is sudden death due to blockage of the upper airway (larynx) by a large bolus of food, typically meat, occurring while eating, often in an intoxicated person.

Step 2: It is named cafe coronary because the sudden collapse at a dining table mimics a heart attack (coronary event), but the true cause is mechanical obstruction of the airway and asphyxia, not a cardiac cause.

Step 3: Gagging is obstruction of the mouth and pharynx by a cloth or gag. Overlying is accidental smothering of an infant by an adult lying over it. Burking is a method of homicidal smothering combined with traumatic asphyxia (chest compression).

Step 4: Since the cause here is specifically a food bolus choking the airway, cafe coronary is the correct answer.