Case Reports

Foreign body aspiration in an adolescent: a plastic pen point

10.5350/BTDMJB201309309

  • Ali Demirci
  • İlyas Tolga Erkum
  • Esra Şevketoğlu
  • Bahar Kural
  • Sami Hatipoğlu

Received Date: 12.05.2011 Accepted Date: 26.12.2011 Med J Bakirkoy 2013;9(3):142-144

In pediatrics, foreign body aspiration is an illness whose diagnosis is hard to discover and it is commonly seen in especially nursling term. 12 year-old girl came up with the grievance of cough and fever which had been continuing for 15 days. Although the patient had the treatment of parenteral and oral antibiotic with the diagnosis of acute respiratory infection in two different health institutions, her fever could not be taken under control so, she was forwarded to our clinic. In physical examination, it was discovered that a prominent declining respiration in her right lung medium basal and a prominent pneumonic infiltration in right below zone in thoracic X-ray and she was applied pneumonia treatment. In spite of the treatment, the patient had no improvement in her x-rays and oscultation so bronchoscopy was planned for the patient. During the preparation of bronchoscopy, a plastic pen point at the size of 2x1 cm exited throughout the patient’s mouth by coughing while her companion helping her to apply physiotherapy. Treatment was completed in 15 days. Patient’s physical examination and radiological findings were improved and she was discharged. By the light of this case we tried to emphasize that whatever the age of patient, in undefined chronic cough and resistant lobar pneumonia etiology, we need to think the foreign body aspiration during history taking.

Keywords: Foreign body, pneumonia, chronical infection