Chronic cough and uncontrolled asthma: Ending a three year clinical course with successful foreign body removal

Abstract

Acute foreign body aspiration can cause severe damage to the respiratory system, leading to laceration and even death due to asphyxia. However, a foreign body that has been aspirated could go unnoticed acutely and lead to persistent shortness of breath symptoms. Most of the patients will be able to recall the acute aspiration event, but others do not. On the latter, a more meticulous approach will lead to the diagnosis and subsequent effective management. We hereby present the case of a 52-year-old male with history of partly controlled severe asthma and chronic persistent cough with bloody sputum. Upon evaluation, he was found with a right-sided pneumonia and pertinent history remarkable for several episodes of bronchitis in the past 3 years. There circumstances and subsequent images led to the successful finding and removal of a chronic foreign body aspirated 3 years prior to evaluation. A procedure led to almost complete resolution of symptoms of cough and asthma.

Keywords

• Chronic cough
• Foreign body aspiration
• Asthma