Why humans should not eat broom straws: Pericarditis and endocarditis

Abstract

A broom straw was ingested and penetrated the esophageal wall, the pericardial space and its tip became lodged in the coronary sinus. Bacterial pericarditis and then fungal endocarditis ensued but were temporally separated by an asymptomatic 6-month period. On transthoracic echocardiography, the straw was mistakenly identified to be a “prominent Thebesian valve.” This child survived both life-threatening infections. The occurrence of infections caused by unusual organisms in the setting of immunocompetence highlights the need for a high index of suspicion for the presence of a causative foreign body.

Keywords

• broom straw
• endocarditis
• pericarditis