title: Pediatric autopsy case of asphyxia due to salmon egg (ikura) aspiration.
abstract: Here we report an autopsy case of asphyxia due to aspiration of a salmon egg (ikura) into the airway. The patient was a 19-month-old girl. During breakfast, she put salmon eggs into her mouth, and began to walk. She slipped, fell down, and collapsed. She was pronounced dead following 2 h of resuscitation. The body was autopsied 28 h after death. The gastric contents consisted of rice, orange sections, and white salmon eggs. The lungs were deeply congested and over-inflated. In the right lung, areas of atelectasis in the upper and middle lobes were seen. A yellow salmon egg (8 mm in diameter) was found in the trachea. Although fish eggs are consumed throughout the world, reports of this sort are limited. The aspiration of fish eggs is under-acknowledged and underreported. The importance of preventive measures needs to be emphasized to parents and caregivers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Iwate, Japan. mtakamiy@iwate-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takamiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisae
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Niitsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Iwate Medical University Center For Liberal Arts And Sciences, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saigusa
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dewa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D001344:Autopsy; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D012474:Salmon; D014132:Trachea / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: asphyxia; foreign body aspiration; ikura; salmon egg