Abstract
Background. We report an adult case of airway foreign body due to an inner metallic tube of a bite block. Case. A 64-year-old man with ventricular shunt received removal of the shunt tube and spinal drainage for shunt infection. He also had severe aspiration pneumonia and received mechanical ventilation for seven days postoperatively. Two days after extubation, his respiratory failure deteriorated, for which blind nasal re-intubation was performed. Chest X-ray film after re-intubation disclosed the presence of a radiopaque foreign body from the right main bronchus to the truncus intermedius. We successfully extracted the foreign body using grasping forceps by flexible bronchoscopy. The extracted material was the inner metallic tube of a bite block sized 55mm long and 9mm in diameter. Conclusion. We suspected the patient aspirated the dropped inner tube at the time of re-intubation. Physicians must be aware that the inner metallic tube can drop from a bite block with a debased outer tube, which results in an increased risk of airway foreign body in the elderly and unconsciousness patients. We consider this case is valuable with regard to risk management.
