01.12.2011 | Case report | Ausgabe 1/2011 Open Access
Asymptomatic bronchial aspiration and prolonged retention of a capsule endoscope: a case report
- Zeitschrift:
- Journal of Medical Case Reports > Ausgabe 1/2011
Wichtige Hinweise
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1752-1947-5-341) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
AP carried out the capsule endoscopy procedure and drafted the manuscript. NF followed our patient during the admission period and helped to draft the manuscript. AC followed our patient during the admission period and helped to draft the manuscript. SG made substantial contributions to the manuscript and gave final approval of the version to be published. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Abstract
Introduction
Capsule endoscopy has, over the last few years, become a first-line test to visualize the mucosa of the small intestine. This technique is generally considered safe and does not cause discomfort for patients. However, although patients may have difficulty in swallowing the capsule, bronchial aspiration of a capsule endoscope is a very rare complication. We report the case of an 82-year-old man who experienced prolonged bronchial aspiration of a capsule endoscope without relevant symptoms, followed by a spontaneous return of the capsule to the gastrointestinal tract.
Case presentation
An 82-year-old Caucasian man was referred to our unit from another local hospital to undergo capsule endoscopy. He swallowed the capsule without any apparent difficulties and did not show any overt symptoms. The following day, when we reviewed the capsule endoscopy images, we realized that the capsule was in the bronchial system and remained there for the duration of the study. An urgent X-ray of the chest confirmed the presence of the capsule in the left side of the bronchopulmonary tree. Two days later a repeat chest X-ray showed the capsule in the right bronchus. After two days the capsule was retrieved in the feces. Our patient remained asymptomatic during the entire admission period.
Conclusions
Aspiration of a capsule endoscope is a rare complication; to the best of our knowledge this is the first reported case in which a capsule endoscope remained for six days in the bronchial system of a patient without causing airway compromise or pneumonitis and spontaneously returned to the gastrointestinal tract.