[Vegetal foreign body in the airway: an unusual cause of hemoptysis in childhood. Clinical case].
Hemoptysis is an infrequent symptom in childhood and potentially life threatening. The most common causes in this age group are bronchiectasis secondary to cystic fibrosis, cardiovascular and pulmonary congenital anomalies and a miscellaneous group of causes including retained intrabronchial aspirated foreign bodies. We report a previously healthy 5-year-old girl with recurrent pneumonias associated with episodes of hemoptysis. She was admitted in our institution to investigate the persistence of hemoptysis. Based on clinical history, aspiration of a vegetal foreign body was postulated as the etiology and it was confirmed in the pathological examination after surgical exploration, with pulmonary lobe resection. The importance of a good history taking in pediatric hemoptysis is emphasized.
Zúñiga
S
S
Departamento de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. cirupedi@med.puc.cl
De Mañana
M
M
Monge
M
M
García
C
C
González
S
S
Iturriaga
L
L
Sánchez
I
I
D001980:Bronchi; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D006469:Hemoptysis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D001467:Hordeum; D006801:Humans