Celebration gone wrong: A case of foreign body ingestion related to a military promotion ceremony

Abstract

Introduction: It has been reported that every year, over 1500 deaths have been attributed to foreign body aspiration in adults. Most foreign body ingestions in adults occur during eating, while in the pediatric population, toys and magnets are the common culprits. Delay in diagnosis is common given that patients may only present with a cough and be mislabeled as having asthma or an upper respiratory infection. As a result, a high index of suspicion for foreign body aspiration must be present to allow for timely identification and treatment. If noted to be in the gastrointestinal tract, endoscopy is often employed due to its reported 95% successful retrieval rate. case report: We present a case of 26-year-old active duty soldier who was found to have aspirated a foreign object during a promotion ceremony. Urgent endoscopy with a roth net was utilized and successful in removing the object. conclusion: Initial evaluation should focus on the patient’s respiratory status to include choking, drooling, wheezing, and bloody saliva to determine if urgent intubation is required for airway protection. While in the past, foreign object removal required a surgical procedure, endoscopy has now stepped up as a suitable noninvasive alternative in many cases.