title: Pulmonary needle embolism from intravenous drug abuse.
abstract: Although the embolization of catheters and other foreign bodies in blood vessels is a well-known happening, needle embolization has rarely been reported. We describe here an instance in which a hypodermic needle broke in a man's skin during cocaine injection. The needle fragment was observed to migrate within a short time to the periphery of the left lung. The patient did not develop complications. The limited literature available indicates that such peripheral embolization usually follows a benign course.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque.
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Newell
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003042:Cocaine; D005542:Forearm / Q000098:blood supply; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications*; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009339:Needles; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology*; D011859:Radiography; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D014680:Veins
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine