Sweet Potato Was Not So Sweet: Undetected Foreign-body Aspiration in a Healthy Child Leading to Acute Bronchial Asthma.

INTRODUCTION: Sweet potato may contain furanoterpenoids, including ipomeamarone, which cause lung edema. CASE PRESENTATION: A 10-year-old schoolgirl was hospitalized with asthma exacerbation and acute pneumonia. Chest radiographs showed a diffuse opacity of the left lung and hyperpermeability of the right lung. Computed tomography indicated foreign-body aspiration. Flexible bronchoscopy revealed an inhaled piece of sweet potato obstructing the left main bronchus. Although the patient's dyspnea worsened after removal of the sweet potato, she recovered with the treatment based on the 2014 Japanese Childhood Asthma Guidelines. CONCLUSION: Cases of sweet potato aspiration need careful treatment after removal of the foreign body.