Paint in the Pipe: An Unusual Foreign Body
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Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Handheld Metal Detector Screening for Metallic Foreign Body Ingestion in Children
Published on: September 11, 2018
Neha Garg1, Natasha Gupta, Dheeraj Shah
1Departments of Pediatrics and *Radiology, University College of Medical Sciences (University of Delhi) and GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, Delhi, India. Correspondence to: Dr Dheeraj Shah, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, Delhi 110 095, India. shahdheeraj@hotmail.com.
Background:
Foreign bodies in the airway can be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.
Case Characteristics:
30-month-old girl with complaints of noisy and fast breathing following fall over a pile of sand. Sand was suctioned out by direct bronchoscopy. The child improved initially but condition worsened in next four days with marked stridor and wheeze.
Observation:
Imaging revealed elongated sharp radiodense opacity in the cervical region, suggestive of foreign body. At repeat bronchoscopy, paint material was removed from the airway, leading to recovery.
Message:
Paint material mixed in the sand can adhere to the walls of the airway, and cause persistent symptoms of obstruction.
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