Expulsion of Inhaled Foreign Body and Risk of Endotracheal Tube Block

Airway foreign body (FB) is a life-threatening condition not only in children but also in elderly patients. Many kinds of airway FB are documented, including seeds, food and other organic material. Pill aspiration is a distinct clinical entity estimated to comprise about 7% of airway foreign bodies [1]. As it may occur to outpatients and inpatients, clinicians should be aware of it when managing patients in the clinic, emergency room and hospital ward. Bronchial FB may be embedded in bronchial wall with fibrotic change when chronic, lodged in an airway when acute, or migrate freely in the bronchial lumen. A free FB can move from bronchial tree into endotracheal tube (ET) causing ventilation obstruction [2-4]. Here we reported a case with inhaled pill expelled through the ET during ventilation with an ambu-bag.