Airway foreign body aspiration: common, yet easily overlooked! Two interesting cases

Two cases: A 66-year-old woman was referred to the hospital due to dyspnoea and cough. Seven months prior to referral, the patient had choked on a chunk of nut and grain-filled bread. She had daily cough and dyspnoea. The patient was convinced of an airway foreign body and she contacted her general practitioner and the emergency service several times; they all found this unlikely. Fibre optic bronchoscopy revealed two obstructing nut-like foreign bodies in the right upper and lower lobe, respectively. A 77-year-old man with sarcoidosis developed increased dyspnoea and sputum production. Three weeks earlier, the patient had choked on a magnesium tablet. Everyone was convinced that the tablet had dissolved. Infection was suspected. Chest CT scan was performed showing no obvious signs of infection or progression in sarcoidosis. After the CT scan, the patient coughed up the remains of the tablet and his symptoms resolved. Retrospective evaluation of the CT scan revealed the tablet.