Pulmonary artery penetration due to fish bone ingestion: A rare case report

Abstract

Accidental fish bone ingestion is a common manifestation at emergency departments. In most cases, ingested foreign bodies usually pass uneventfully through the gastrointestinal tract and complications only present in less than 5% of all patients. In this report, we present the first documented case of pulmonary artery injury due to a fish bone in a 63-year-old male patient hospitalized with hemoptysis after accidentally swallowing a fish bone 30 days ago. This patient subsequently had surgery and endoscopy to safely remove the foreign body and then recovered well on a follow-up examination. For cases of fish bone ingestion, contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography is one of the most essential tools to assess vascular problems and associated mediastinal infections-risk factors for life-threatening and long-term recurrent inflammation. Reconstructing planes along the foreign body axis and changing windows when analyzing CT scans is necessary to avoid missing lesions and dilemmas.

Keywords

• Fishbone
• Pulmonary artery penetration
• Esophageal foreign body
• Lung infection
• Hemoptysis
• Case report