Incidental cases of tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration in adults

Foreign body (FB) aspiration can be a life-threatening problem. Incidental cases can remain undetected for a long time and often are misdiagnosed. The aim of our study to report the incidence of incidentally diagnosed cases and present two cases. None of the patients had aware of foreign body aspiration previously. During the 10 years, 24 FBs have been removed in our clinic by using either FOB or rigid bronchoscope and 2 of whom detected incidentally. 25 years old patient had been misdiagnosed as having unresolved pneumonia due to consolidation of right lower lobe. After the failure of treatment, bronchoscopic evaluation and computarized thomography (CT) have been done. Metallic part of the pencil has been removed by rigit bronchoscopy. Another case was 50 years old and admitted to our hospital with almost same complaint with the first case such as cough, sputum, fewer and dypnea. Consolidation and pleural effusion adjacent to triple dental prosthesis has been detected in radiography. It was removed by rigit bronchoscopy. None of the cases had any risk factor for aspiration such as older age and altered mental status. Untreated or unrecognized FB aspiration can result in obstructive pneumonitis, atelectasis, lung abscess, empyema, bronchiectasis, hemoptysis, and pleural effusion. For that reason, patient with chronic cough, recurrent or unresolved lung infections even if no history of aspiration might be detected for FB aspiration.