Covert inhalation of tablet causing fatal pneumonia

Abstract

Inhalation of foreign bodies is usually associated with acute respiratory symptoms. We report a case of an elderly woman who died from pneumonia due to covert tablet inhalation. Clinicians caring for the elderly should consider this as a possible cause for pneumonia which fails to respond to usual therapy.

‘Iron lung’: Distinctive bronchoscopic features of acute iron tablet aspiration

“…While previous case reports have relied on histological confirmation, we believe that the bronchoscopic appearance is distinctive and early recognition may be important in the diagnosis of this potentially fatal condition 2,4 , 5 . The more serious bronchial stenosis has been recently described and successfully managed 7 . The pathogenesis of iron tablet aspiration is believed to be due to the highly toxic oxidation of iron from the ferrous to the ferric form.…”

“…Acute iron tablet aspiration is a rare syndrome associated with chemical burn injury to the tracheobronchial tree following accidental inhalation and/or aspiration of an iron tablet 1–9 . To our knowledge, its bronchoscopic appearance has not been well reported to date 3,6 .…”

“…Acute iron tablet aspiration is a rare syndrome associated with chemical burn injury to the tracheobronchial tree following accidental inhalation and/or aspiration of an iron tablet. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] To our knowledge, its bronchoscopic appearance has not been well reported to date. 3,6 We report the bronchoscopic appearances of acute iron tablet-induced lung injury and its histological correlation with the aim of facilitating its recognition by the bronchoscopist.…”

“Difficult-to-treat” asthma-like symptoms in a 12-yr-old atopic female

“…The most common presentations after undiscerned foreign body inhalation include cough, expectoration, wheezing, dyspnoea, chest pain, fever and haemoptysis, which can lead to the mistaken diagnoses of bronchial asthma, bronchitis, chronic pneumonia and pulmonary embolism [2]. Indeed, an erroneous diagnosis of bronchial asthma had been made for the patient described here, prior to admission to our department, based on clinical symptoms (dyspnoea, chest pain, and nonproductive cough) and a history of allergic sensitization to ubiquitous inhalant allergens.…”

Bronchial necrosis and granuloma induced by the aspiration of a tablet of ferrous sulphate

“…B Br ro on nc ch hi ia al l n ne ec cr ro os si is s a an nd d g gr ra an nu ul lo om ma a i in nd du uc ce ed d b by y t th he e a as sp pi ir ra at ti io on n o of f a a t ta ab bl le et t o of f f fe er rr ro ou us s s su ul lp ph ha at te e Foreign body aspiration occurs mainly in young children and in elderly people [1]. When the foreign body is chemically active, it can lead, in addition to obstruction and local irritation, to granuloma and/or tissue necrosis, resulting, in some cases, in bronchial perforation and/or stenosis with haemoptysis.…”