Leeches found in the airway of a 5-year-old patient in Dak Lak province

On June 5, the Central Highlands General Hospital announced that doctors from the General Pediatrics Department of the Central Highlands General Hospital had successfully removed a foreign object, a leech, from the airway of a 5-year-old patient after a week of continuous coughing up blood.

The patient is a 5-year-old YVN, residing in Yang Mao commune, Krong Bong district, Dak Lak province. Previously, on May 29, the hospital received the patient in a state of fever, coughing up a lot of phlegm, labored breathing, and had symptoms of coughing up blood for a week before.

Dr. Tran Thi Thuy Minh, Head of the Department of Pediatrics at the Central Highlands General Hospital, said: After examination, the doctor initially diagnosed the child with laryngotracheobronchitis, and did not rule out the possibility of a foreign object in the airway. During the examination, the doctors unexpectedly discovered a living foreign object in the child's nose. The child was immediately transferred to the ENT department to remove the foreign object and continue monitoring.

The result was a live leech, which was identified as the main cause of severe symptoms such as coughing up blood, respiratory infection and difficulty breathing for many days in the child.

After removing the leech, the patient's health is now stable. Through this, Dr. Minh recommends that parents need to be more vigilant, limit children from bathing in streams, drinking unsanitary water, especially in mountainous areas, contact with the natural environment can cause foreign objects to enter the body through the nose or mouth. At the same time, it is necessary to closely monitor unusual signs to take children to medical facilities promptly to avoid dangerous complications.

Nguyen Cong Ly

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phat-hien-dia-trong-duong-tho-cua-benh-nhi-5-tuoi-o-tinh-dak-lak-post884805.html