Persistent cough, thought it was a serious illness, but unexpectedly the culprit was fruit seeds

A persistent cough that lasted for a year made Mr. PVK (56 years old, living in Tay Ninh) worried, thinking he was suffering from a dangerous chronic respiratory disease.

For nearly a year, Mr. K. has visited many different medical facilities for examination and treatment of his persistent cough, but the condition has not improved. In the past month, the symptoms have become increasingly severe, with continuous chest pain, severe and persistent cough, high fever, and nausea.

Worried about Mr. K's deteriorating health, his family decided to take him to Xuyen A Long An General Hospital for a thorough examination, hoping to find the exact cause for a complete treatment.

At the General Internal Medicine Clinic, doctors performed a chest CT scan, the results showed an oval foreign object, measuring about 5.5 x 7.0 x 14.5 mm in size, located in the right main bronchus, suspected to be a fruit seed that had been stuck for a long time. Immediately, the patient was prescribed a bronchoscopy to remove the foreign object, to avoid leaving it for too long and causing serious complications to the respiratory tract.

On August 10, specialist doctor Truong Minh Hieu, Head of the hospital's Endoscopy Department, said that the foreign object was a smooth, black fruit seed, located deep in the right main bronchus. The seed was surrounded by a white membrane, the surrounding mucosa was edematous, and prone to bleeding. Due to the characteristics of the smooth, flat, and deep-seated foreign object, removing it was difficult. However, thanks to the smooth coordination of the endoscopy team, the doctors successfully removed the foreign object safely without causing damage to the surrounding organs.

After the procedure, the patient's symptoms of cough, chest pain and shortness of breath were significantly relieved. Mr. K. continued to be monitored and treated for pneumonia in the General Internal Medicine Department. After more than a week of intensive treatment, his health was stable and he was able to eat normally again, and he was discharged from the hospital to return home with his family.

Fruit seeds after being removed from the patient's bronchus

PHOTO: BSCC

Do not be subjective when coughing persistently

"This case is special because the patient did not know that he had choked on a foreign object, leading to subjectivity and not going to the doctor immediately. When the symptoms of persistent cough appeared, the examination was not performed in depth, so the exact cause could not be found. If left for a long time, the foreign object can stick firmly and deeply, causing serious consequences such as respiratory infections, lung abscesses, pleural empyema, bronchiectasis... All of these complications not only make treatment difficult but also have long-term effects on the patient's respiratory function later on," shared Dr. Nguyen Van Chien (Department of General Internal Medicine - Respiratory Internal Medicine).

Recently, the hospital has received many cases of choking on foreign objects in the airways and digestive tract, typically bone fragments, pills, fruit seeds or small objects that are easily swallowed. This is a potentially dangerous condition, especially in young children and the elderly - those who are prone to accidents when eating and drinking.

To prevent choking on foreign objects, people need to be careful when eating, eat slowly, chew thoroughly, avoid talking or laughing while eating. In case of accidentally swallowing a foreign object, the patient must be quickly taken to a reputable medical facility for timely and safe treatment. Absolutely do not apply folk remedies or arbitrarily poke the throat at home, because it can cause the foreign object to get stuck deeper or cause serious damage, even endangering life.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ho-dai-dang-tuong-benh-nang-khong-ngo-thu-pham-la-hat-trai-cay-185250810083519309.htm