Successfully picked up a 2.4 cm long whole-shell pill that stayed in the trachea for 3 years

April 13, Hospital Danang Reportedly, the doctors of the Department of Respiratory Internal Medicine – Allergy Immunology had just finished endoscopy and successfully picked up a pill with the intact shell with the size of 2.4 x 1.7 cm located in the trachea for male VH (49 years old, living in Cam Le district, Da Nang city).

Before that, patient H. was admitted to Da Nang Hospital in a state of prolonged cough and difficulty breathing. Through information extraction, it is known that 3 years ago (in 2019), patient H. took the medicine but choked, while Mr. H. unintentionally forgot to peel the medicine.

VH patient choked on a pill with a plastic cover in it for the past 3 years sx

After that, although it was not difficult to breathe, patient H. coughed for a long time. By March 3, 2021, because of a prolonged cough and sore throat, the patient went to a local hospital for treatment of acute pharyngitis, took medicine for nearly a year but did not get better.

By April 2022, the symptoms of cough were still prolonged, accompanied by shortness of breath, so patient H. went to a private clinic in the locality, was performed chest computed tomography technique and Diagnosis and monitoring of tracheal foreign body. After that, patient H. was transferred to the Department of Respiratory Internal Medicine – Allergy Immunology, Da Nang Hospital.

The image of the pill lying in the patient’s trachea is seen through the endoscope sx

After that, doctors from the Department of Respiratory Internal Medicine – Allergy Immunology collaborated with the Department of Otolaryngology (Danang Hospital) to conduct bronchoscopy to pick up the plastic pill with the plastic shell intact at the trachea, the location of the larynx. 3 – 4 cm below the vocal cords, the two ends of the capsule are embedded about 8 mm deep into the anterior and posterior walls of the trachea.

Present, health The patient is stable, has no difficulty breathing, relieves a lot of sore throat, can eat and drink by mouth.

The tablet is 2.4 x 1.7 cm long and has been in the patient’s trachea for the past 3 years sx

Doctor Hoang Thi Tam, Deputy Head of the Department of Respiratory Internal Medicine – Allergy Immunology, said that this is a case of a patient choking on a foreign object lying in the trachea for a long time, the granulation tissues proliferate, cling to the foreign body and cause airway narrowing. Due to the location of the foreign body located close to the vocal cords, the doctors used special tools to remove it to avoid making the damage worse than the respiratory tract.

Doctor Tam recommends, to prevent such cases, patients should not take multiple pills at the same time. In particular, it should be noted that all drugs must be removed from the shell. Do not talk while taking medicine or eating. The case of the patient after Suspicion of choking foreign body should immediately visit a medical facility to avoid serious complications caused by foreign bodies in the lungs.