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. 2011 Oct;28(4):312-4.
doi: 10.4103/0970-2113.85700.

Two cases of aspiration of calcium tablets

Josef Micallef  1 , Stephen Montefort, Charles Mallia Azzopardi, Joseph Galea
Affiliations

Two cases of aspiration of calcium tablets

Josef Micallef et al. Lung India. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

Two clinical cases of aspiration are reported in elderly ladies with differing presentations following inhalation of the same brand of calcium tablet. One of the patients distinctly recalled the choking episode, whereas the other failed to do so making the diagnosis of aspiration difficult. One of the aspirated tablets was successfully retrieved during rigid bronchoscopy after the patient reported several months of cough requiring multiple courses of antibiotics. The other aspirated tablet was coughed up by the patient after the successful treatment of a pneumonia complicated by a parapneumonic effusion.

Keywords: Calcium tablets; foreign body aspiration; right-sided lung pathology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chest radiograph initially was reported as normal, however on careful inspection a small round opacity is visible at the level of the right hilum
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chest radiograph at presentation showed a right lower zone consolidation associated with a pleural effusion
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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