All the wrong places: an unusual case of foreign body ingestion and inhalation

Intentional ingestion of foreign bodies is common in psychiatric patients and prison inmates. Timing of endoscopy for ingested foreign bodies varies and depends on the type and location of the foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract. We present the case of a 26-year-old man who was brought from a correctional facility after confessing to have swallowed a few shower curtain hooks. Abdominal X-ray done in the emergency room revealed multiple foreign bodies in the stomach. An upper endoscopy was done in the emergency room with the use of an overtube. The first metal piece was caught by a snare and removed with the endoscope. All other foreign bodies which were present on the abdominal X-ray could not be visualized initially as there was retained food in the stomach. After multiple attempts, four other foreign bodies were found and each one was caught by the forceps and then the scope was removed with the forceps holding the foreign body. There was an additional foreign body in the right mainstem bronchus. The patient had coughed up the foreign body and swallowed it into the gastrointestinal tract. A computed tomography scan of chest and abdomen was done for evaluation, which showed the foreign body in the cecum. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient intentionally transferring a foreign body from one organ system to another. Colonoscopy was done and the foreign body was removed rectally with a snare without any complications.