A laryngeal foreign body misdiagnosed as asthma bronchiale.
Laryngotracheal foreign bodies, although less common than bronchial foreign bodies, are potentially more dangerous. We report a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome with asthma bronchiale symptoms, which was later found to be the result of a thin bone lamella impacted in her larynx. There was no clear history of foreign body aspiration. She was treated with the initial diagnosis of asthma bronchiale. It took a month before the final diagnosis was made. The foreign body was removed via direct laryngoscopy. It was a white and thin bone lamella with sharp edges, measuring 28 x 19 x 2 mm. We thought the case was worth presenting because of its rare location, the size of the foreign body, and the long duration before the final diagnosis was made.
Cinar
Ugur
U
Department of Otolaryngology, Sisli Etfal Teaching and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. u_cinar@yahoo.com
Vural
Cetin
C
Turgut
Suat
S
D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D007830:Larynx; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome