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Case Reports
. 2013 Nov-Dec;20(6):e98-9.
doi: 10.1155/2013/754121. Epub 2013 Oct 17.

Foreign-body aspiration in the adult: presentation and management

Alexandra Bain, Althea Barthos, Victor Hoffstein, Jane Batt
Case Reports

Foreign-body aspiration in the adult: presentation and management

Alexandra Bain et al. Can Respir J. 2013 Nov-Dec.

Abstract
in English, French

Nonasphyxiating foreign-body aspiration in adults can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are nonspecific and chest x-rays may be normal due to organic composition of the foreign bodies. The diagnosis is often made via flexible bronchoscopy; however, debate remains as to whether rigid or flexible bronchoscopy is the optimal method of extraction. The authors describe a patient who was initially referred for assessment of a calcified left mainstem bronchus mass identified only on computed tomography scan of the thorax. The patient underwent flexible bronchoscopy and was discovered to have a bone fragment wedged in the bronchus for a duration of 22 years, which was successfully removed via rigid bronchoscope.

L’aspiration d’un corps étranger sans asphyxie peut être difficile à diagnostiquer chez l’adulte parce que les symptômes ne sont pas spécifiques. De plus, les radiographies pulmonaires peuvent être normales en raison de la composition organique des corps étrangers. Le diagnostic est souvent posé par bronchoscopie flexible, mais le débat reste ouvert quant au choix de la bronchoscopie rigide ou flexible comme mode d’extraction optimal. Les auteurs décrivent un patient qui a d’abord été aiguillé en vue d’évaluer une souche gauche calcifiée dépistée seulement à la tomodensitométrie du thorax. Le patient a subi une bronchoscopie flexible, et on a découvert qu’un fragment d’os était logé dans sa bronche depuis 22 ans. Ce fragment a été retiré avec succès par bronchoscope rigide.

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Figures

Figure 1)
Figure 1)
Normal chest x-rays. Posteranterior and lateral chest x-rays were within normal limits
Figure 2)
Figure 2)
Calcified lesion in the left main stem bronchus. Computed tom-mography of the thorax revealed a densely calcified mass (arrow), measuring 4 mm × 12 mm in the left main stem bronchus and a hyperlucent left lung. There was no hilar or mediastinal adenopathy and the pulmonary parenchyma was normal. Differential diagnoses included a bronchial tumour, broncholith or foreign body
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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