[Intrabronchial foreign body in adults: usefulness of computerized tomography]

Arch Bronconeumol. 1997 Apr;33(4):201-3.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

The diagnosis of intrabronchial solid foreign body is recorded less often in adults than in children and becomes increasingly difficult to make as time passes after aspiration. Three cases of intrabronchial foreign body in adults with no history of loss of consciousness are reported. Clinical and radiological features are discussed, with special mention of the diagnostic role of computed tomography, a technique that has not often been mentioned in the literature on foreign body aspiration, but that is more sensitive and specific than the simple X-ray. In patients with symptoms inconsistent with X-ray images, computed tomography can be a useful, noninvasive technique for guiding diagnosis and assessing the need for bronchoscopy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Bronchi*
  • Female
  • Foreign Bodies / diagnostic imaging*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed