Abstract
Foreign bodies in the airways can cause recurrent pneumonia or atelectasis and may even be fatal. Early diagnosis and removal is thus preferable. We hereby report on two cases of foreign bodies in the airways. In the first case, pneumonia led to the discovery of dental calculus aspiration in the left main bronchus. Removal by bronchoscope was attempted, but the dental calculus could not be removed as it crumbled during the procedure and moved into the peripheral bronchus. Further pneumonia recurrence was prevented by administration of antibiotics. To our knowledge, there has been only one report of dental calculus aspiration to date. Insufficient oral care can degrade oral flora and consequently increase the risk of aspiration pneumonia. As seen in the present case, it can also raise the risk of dental calculus aspiration. In the second case, a tracheal tube used in a permanent tracheostoma fell out in the trachea. It was expelled about 4 months later by coughing, but presented no symptoms while displaced. The reason for the lack of symptoms may be that the lumen structure of the tracheal tube did not obstruct the airways.
