title: Cayenne aspiration: an unusual type of lower airway foreign-body aspiration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cayenne aspiration is an unusual type of foreign-body aspiration that is usually misdiagnosed. This article analyzes the clinical features of cayenne aspiration in the lower airway.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical data on eight adult patients with cayenne aspiration were retrospectively analyzed. Six were elderly patients. The data were collected from Peking University First Hospital and Anhui Chest Hospital between January 2010 and August 2014.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most common symptoms of cayenne aspiration were cough (eight cases, 100%) and sputum (five cases, 62.5%). Only one patient (12.5%) could supply the history of aspiration on his first visit to doctor and was diagnosed definitely without delay. The other seven cases were misdiagnosed as pneumonia and the time to accurate diagnosis was from 1 month to 6 months. The history of aspiration could be recalled after confirmed diagnosis for the other seven cases. The most common presentation shown by chest computed tomography (CT) was pneumonic opacity (eight cases, 100%). The existence of cayenne could not be detected by chest CT in any of the patients. All the patients were diagnosed definitively and managed successfully with flexible bronchoscopy. Cayenne was more often lodged in the right bronchus tree (seven cases, 87.5%), especially the right lower bronchus (four cases, 50%). The segment of cayenne was complete in five cases (62.5%) and scattered in three cases (37.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical features of cayenne aspiration are usually obscure and nonspecific which may lead to delay in diagnosis. Flexible bronchoscopy is safe and useful for early diagnosis and effective management.
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Department, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lianjun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Department, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuchuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Intervention Department, Anhui Chest Hospital, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiankui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zha
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Intervention Department, Anhui Chest Hospital, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Intervention Department, Anhui Chest Hospital, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Department, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xinmin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001995:Bronchography; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002212:Capsicum; D002681:China; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: chest CT; clinical features; flexible bronchoscopy; pneumonia