Prolonged cough and pneumonia due to bone stuck in throat without knowing

After three months of unexplained dry cough, a 69-year-old woman was discovered by doctors to have a sharp piece of bone stuck in her bronchus.

Mrs. R's health condition stabilized after removing the foreign object from her airway - Photo: BVCC

After three months of persistent dry cough, Ms. LTTR (69 years old, residing in Tam Ky, Quang Nam) still could not find the cause despite having sought treatment in many places. It was only when her pneumonia relapsed that she was transferred to Da Nang Hospital and discovered a sharp piece of bone deep in her airway - silently causing inflammation and lung damage all this time.

The patient was admitted to the hospital with a dry cough that had lasted for more than 3 months, which had recently increased, accompanied by fever and chest pain. She had previously been treated at a lower-level medical facility, but had not improved. When her symptoms worsened, she was transferred to Da Nang Hospital.

X-ray showed a consolidative lesion in the upper lobe of the left lung. CT scan results showed localized lung collapse, bronchiectasis with dense contrast in the bronchial lumen - a sign of a foreign body.

Doctors of the Department of Respiratory and Allergy Immunology (Da Nang Hospital) decided to perform a bronchoscopy under anesthesia for examination.

Surprisingly, they took out a sharp piece of bone, about 2 x 1.5cm in size, located at the junction of the upper and lower left lobe bronchi. This foreign object was the culprit that caused Ms. R. to have a prolonged cough and recurrent pneumonia.

After the procedure, the patient was alert, had significantly reduced cough and chest pain, had good lung ventilation, and was expected to be discharged in the next few days.

The sharp piece of bone removed from Ms. R's airway caused her to cough and have prolonged pneumonia - Photo: BVCC

According to specialist doctor II Hoang Thi Tam - deputy head of the department of respiratory medicine - immunology and allergy, foreign bodies in the airways in adults is not a rare condition but is easily overlooked, because the symptoms are often not as dramatic as in children.

"In many cases, patients have choked or gagging slightly during meals, but because there were no serious symptoms afterwards, they subjectively ignored it.

Foreign objects can go deep into the airways and remain dormant for weeks, even months, silently causing chronic pneumonia, persistent cough, sometimes coughing up blood, or worse, respiratory failure, threatening life if not detected early," Dr. Tam warned.

From this case, the doctor advised adults not to talk or laugh while eating. Avoid the habit of sucking on small objects such as toothpicks, pens, safety pins, etc. Elderly people or bedridden patients need support in correct eating posture, and may need to puree food or have a feeding tube inserted if the risk of choking is high.

For young children, do not let them play with small objects that can be easily swallowed such as seeds, batteries, or toy pieces. Avoid letting children run around while eating. Fruits with seeds such as sapodilla and custard apple should be carefully removed from the seeds before feeding them to children.

If you suspect a foreign object, if the patient can still cough, encourage them to cough hard. If there are signs of choking, perform the Heimlich maneuver or call 115 immediately. In case of prolonged coughing after choking, even after many days, you should go to a medical facility with a respiratory specialist for an endoscopy.

FLY OF GOOSES

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ho-viem-phoi-keo-dai-vi-hoc-xuong-ma-khong-hay-biet-20250529152242908.htm