Abstract
Aspiration of a tooth is often overlooked in patients with road traffic accidents. Patients with facial trauma can have avulsion of teeth, which may be then aspirated. It can lead to immediate complication — airway obstruction and hypoxia which may sometimes be fatal. Delayed complications are mainly due to airway obstruction leading to chronic respiratory symptoms and recurrent respiratory infections. Hence, aspirated foreign body should be promptly recognised and should be removed. We aim to highlight this in this case report. Keywords: Aspiration; teeth; road traffic accident; risk factors; complications
Highlights
Failure to recognise chest radiological abnormalities in preoperative chest Xray can lead to post-operative complications and may lead to litigations
We describe an aspirated foreign body in a patient following a road traffic accident where the patient did not have any symptoms or signs
All patients with a history of facial trauma should have a proper oro-dental examination and if any missing teeth are noticed, a careful clinical and radiological examination should be done to rule out aspiration even in the absence of symptoms
Summary
Failure to recognise chest radiological abnormalities in preoperative chest Xray can lead to post-operative complications and may lead to litigations. We describe an aspirated foreign body in a patient following a road traffic accident where the patient did not have any symptoms or signs. In the absence of symptoms or signs, an aspirated foreign body can be missed if proper attention is not paid to the chest radiograph. Chest X-ray was taken for preoperative evaluation as he required an emergency craniotomy. He had no external injuries on the chest. Clinical examination of the respiratory system was normal. He had a lacerated wound in the upper lip on the right side.
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