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Case Reports
. 2014 Oct 15;7(10):3599-601.
eCollection 2014.

A rare case report of tracheal leech infestation in a 40-year-old woman

Peng Zhang  1 , Rui Zhang  1 , Jian Zou  2 , Tao Zhu  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A rare case report of tracheal leech infestation in a 40-year-old woman

Peng Zhang et al. Int J Clin Exp Med. .

Abstract

Leeches are the very rare types of airway foreign body. Here we report a rare case of a 40-year-old woman with tracheal leech infestation. A 40-year-old woman presented 2-month history of dyspnea, occasional haemoptysis. There were foreign body sensation in throat, cough and hoarseness. Computed Tomography (CT) revealed some soft tissue shadow in the upper trachea. Eventually a 5 cm long living leech was smoothly removed from trachea by rigid bronchoscopy under sevoflurane general anesthesia. The airway leech infestation should be kept in mind especially in patients presenting with unexplained haemoptysis, dyspnea, hoarseness and a foreign body sensation in the throat and a history of drinking infested water from streams, pools and spring. General anesthesia might be necessary for the removal of the leech.

Keywords: Foreign bodies; leeches; trachea.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Computed Tomography (CT) showing soft tissue shadow (arrow) in the upper trachea.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The leech removed from the patient.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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