title: An unusual cause of pneumonia: seen but not heard.
abstract: A 75-year-old man presented with a non-resolving pneumonia, malaise and weight loss. His medical history included a squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx and a non-small cell carcinoma of the lung. Chest CT showed right lower lobe collapse and consolidation. Bronchoscopy identified a foreign body in the right main bronchus and was subsequently removed with rigid bronchoscope. The removed foreign body was identified as a Blom-Singer speaking valve which had been aspirated 3 months previously. This is a rare complication of a speaking valve aspiration. This case illustrates the potential differential diagnoses of retained foreign bodies in the lung and that the symptoms can mimic neoplastic disease. Once removed, patients can have a dramatic improvement in quality of life and it is important to remember that a speaking valve may be aspirated, even if one present on the initial examination!
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Belfast City Hospital, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Stephen Alan
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rowan
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rendall
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001980:Bronchi / Q000473:pathology*; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed