Adult acute epiglottitis and foreign body in the throat - chicken or egg?
A 53 year old man presented with the chief complaint of having a fish bone stuck in the throat for about 1 h. There was no dysphagia or respiratory symptoms. Plain lateral neck X-ray, direct laryngoscopy and oesophagogastroduodenoscopy showed a grossly swollen epiglottis with narrowing of the laryngeal lumen. No foreign body was found. His condition improved rapidly with intravenous antibiotic therapy. As acute epiglottitis may be a sudden life-threatening condition, a high index of suspicion should be maintained for patients who present with alleged foreign bodies in the throat.
Accident and Emergency Department, North District Hospital, 9 Po Kin Road, Sheung Shui, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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Chung
D000208:Acute Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004826:Epiglottitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010614:Pharynx