A Case of Tracheobronchial Foreign Body having Experienced a Spontaneous Favorable Resolution at the National Hospital of Zinder and Review of the Literature
Abstract:
Introduction: Tracheobronchial foreign bodies are relatively common; and are mainly the prerogative of children aged 9 months to 6 years. Their extractions are usually done under bronchoscopy in the literature. The objective of our study is to report a favorable resolution of a case of tracheobronchial foreign body at the Zinder National Hospital in Niger.
Observation: This was a 6-year-old boy, referred for a chest x-ray with the indication of chronic cough for more than a year; on which a radiopaque foreign body located at the right tracheobronchial junction was observed. On clinical examination, no respiratory distress was noted. During the preoperative assessment and under prescription medication, we observed a spontaneous expulsion of the foreign body. The control chest x-ray came back normal.
Conclusion: Tracheobronchial foreign bodies constitute a diagnostic and therapeutic emergency. Penetration syndrome should always be looked for. Frontal chest radiography helps establish the diagnosis when the foreign body is radio opaque. Treatment involves bronchoscopy. We reported a case of ingestion of a tracheobronchial foreign body which resolved spontaneously at the Zinder National Hospital.
