Foreign body aspiration – Sometimes a tough nut to crack

Abstract

Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening event. We report the case of a 24-month old boy, who was initially presented with an episode of obstructive bronchitis to the family pediatrician. Then, while being treated with empiric antibiotics, he aspirated a peanut. Although resulting in a coughing episode, the mother did initially not ascribe any relevancy to it. Since the diagnosis of obstructive bronchitis had already been established, only an in-depth history taking session with the mother could help figure out, why the boy's symptoms got worse instead of better. This article underlines the importance of accurate history taking and clinical examination.

Keywords

• Foreign body aspiration
• Peanut aspiration
• Atelectases
• History taking