Korean Journal of Medicine  2009;76(2):244-247

Delayed diagnosis of an endobronchial foreign body confused with bronchial asthma.

Byung Joo SUN 1 ; Ji Young CHOI ; Yun Jeong BAE ; Chan Sun PARK ; Tae Bum KIM ; You Sook CHO ; Hee Bom MOON

Affiliations

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Keywords

Foreign body; Aspiration; Chronic cough

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Tracheobronchial foreign bodies can remain undetected for months, or even years, and often present as chronic respiratory symptoms, such as an intractable cough. We report the case of a 51-year-old woman with a cough for over 3 years and hemoptysis for 2 weeks. She had been treated for asthma for the previous 3 years because of her cough, wheeze, and positive bronchodilator response. Her symptoms waxed and waned. Her chest X-ray showed a new mass-like opacity and ill-defined infiltration in the right lower lobe. Computed tomography showed a 2.5-cm mass-like lesion in the right infrahilar area. At fiberoptic bronchoscopic, a solid foreign body was found in the right lower lobe bronchus and was identified as a fish bone. Tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration should always be considered in the differential diagnoses of radiographic lesions or chronic respiratory symptoms that cannot be easily explained.