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Case Reports
. 2021 May;69(5):894-896.
doi: 10.1007/s11748-020-01570-5. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

A strange case of foreign body embolism in the right lower pulmonary artery

Angelo Paolo Ciarrocchi #  1 , Anna Mariantonia Parisi #  2 , Alessio Campisi  2 , Sara Mazzarra  2 , Desideria Argnani  2 , Stefano Congiu  2 , Stefano Sanna  2 , Franco Stella  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

A strange case of foreign body embolism in the right lower pulmonary artery

Angelo Paolo Ciarrocchi et al. Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2021 May.

Abstract

Foreign bodies in the pulmonary circulation have been documented in the literature, with almost all cases being iatrogenic, involving venous catheters, or due to penetrating foreign body emboli. Foreign body pulmonary emboli are often difficult to diagnose due to their varied clinical presentation, the nature of the embolizing material and dubious radiological features. We describe the case of a patient who experienced episodes of massive hemoptysis with inconclusive radiological findings, who underwent a thoracotomy with the discovery of a wooden object of 7 cm in length in the right lower lobe artery, with no apparent mechanism of injury.

Keywords: Foreign body; Nonthrombotic pulmonary embolism; Pulmonary artery.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Chest CT scan showing diffuse areas of alveolar hemorrhage in the right lower lobe. (1) Perivascular ground-glass opacity. (2) Lateral basal segment bronchus. b An endoluminal filling defect of the artery of the lateral basal segment of the right lower lobe. (3) Lateral basal segment artery
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a The dissected artery of the lateral basal segment of the right lower lobe with the wooden foreign object protruding from it. b The wooden object measuring approximately 7 cm after being removed from the artery
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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