Case Report
Aspiration of Thumbtack
Darshan Thota
Correspondence Address :
LCDR Darshan Thota, MC,
USN
Department of Emergency Medicine
Naval Hospital Okinawa
Okinawa, Japan
Tel: +81-98-971-
7713
Email: darshan.s.thota.mil@mail.mil
Received on: October 04, 2017, Accepted on: October 17, 2017, Published on: October 24, 2017
Citation: Darshan Thota (2017). Aspiration of Thumbtack
Copyright: 2017 Darshan Thota. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Unintentional foreign body aspiration can be seen in all age groups. Common substances include both organic and non-organic material. However, sharp metal objects have the potential to cause significant cardiopulmonary pathology. A few dreaded adverse effects of ingested foreign bodies include pneumonia, pneumothorax, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and pnuemomediastinum. This is a case report of a 19 year old Active Duty male who unintentionally aspirated a thumbtack while drinking from his canteen while playing a game which is popular among Sailors and Marines. Military Emergency Physicians should be aware of this high risk behavior and the complications of aspirated thumbtacks.
Keywords: Aspiration, Foreign, Body, Unintentional, Healthy