title: A stitch in time: unrecognized retained foreign bodies after a needlefish injury.
abstract: We present a case report of a traveller injured by a needlefish in the Caribbean. The needlefish leapt from the ocean and struck the traveller's face at high speed, causing a seemingly superficial puncture wound on his nose. Later, it became apparent that multiple fish bones had broken off and lodged in his nasal cavity, very narrowly missing his cribriform plate. Some bones were discharged spontaneously through his nose over the next 3 months, and one required surgical removal. Our report highlights the importance of urgent radiological examination in patients injured by needlefish, even if the external wound appears insignificant.
authors.affiliation: Travel Medicine Alliance Clinics, Australia.|Department of Global Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Colleen L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Travel Medicine Alliance Clinics, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sweet
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weinstein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023761:Beloniformes; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D009666:Nose / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014195:Travel
keywords: Caribbean; Needlefish; injury; marine injury