Unsolicited ejection of an aspirated metallic foreign body in an adult male: Rare case report

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Being an otorhinolaryngological emergency foreign body aspiration (FBA) has continued to be a great challenge to Otorhinolaryngologists. Foreign body inhalation poses life threatening challenges and its uncommon in adult unlike paediatric population. The recommended treatment for the aspirated foreign bodies is bronchoscopy. Unsolicited ejection of an aspirated foreign body is an uncommon encounter in clinical practice and few cases have been reported in the available literatures. CASE PRESENTATION: A man aged 38-years was attended at the clinic with a history of inhaling a metallic foreign body a day prior visiting our hospital underwent unsolicited ejection following several bouts of dry irritating cough while preparations were in progress to send the patient to an operating theatre for emergency bronchoscopy coupled with removal of the foreign body. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: The patient underwent unsolicited ejection of the metallic object following several episodes of dry cough and was then counseled to attend the scheduled follow up after 7-days and it was uneventful. CONCLUSION: Despite being unsafe and not recommended to wait for unsolicited ejection of an aspirated foreign body, meticulous attention should be kept to patients while waiting for bronchoscopy since there are rare chances for unsolicited ejection of such aspirated foreign bodies.