Foreign body aspiration presenting with asthma-like symptoms.
Aspiration of a foreign body into the tracheobronchial tree is rare in adults. In the majority of these cases there is an underlying condition such as mental retardation, depressed mental status, impairment in the swallowing reflex, neurological impairment, alcohol or sedative abuse, or complications from dental manipulations that contributed to the aspiration. These patients are commonly misdiagnosed with asthma and typically do not respond to mainstay anti-inflammatory and/or bronchodilator therapy. We describe the case of a patient with a foreign body aspiration in the upper trachea not recognized by radiographic studies that presented with asthma-type symptoms.
Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
Jennifer C
JC
Kam
Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Vikram
V
Doraiswamy
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Javier F
JF
Dieguez
Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Joan
J
Dabu
Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Matthew
M
Cholankeril
Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Mayur
M
Govind
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Richard
R
Miller
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Saint Michael's Medical Center, Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Marc
M
Adelman