Empyema, acute respiratory failure, and septic shock after aspiration of a soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) bone by an adult

INTRODUCTION: The common late complications of foreign body aspiration include granulation formation, obstructive pneumonia, and atelectasis. However, a foreign body-induced pleural infection is very rare, and especially when it is not iatrogenic. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 64-year-old Chinese man was admitted to our hospital with septic shock and acute respiratory failure requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. Computed tomography revealed multiloculated pleural effusion on the whole right side and right lung atelectasis, with enhanced thickening and calcification of pleura and a foreign body in the right intermediate bronchus. The effusion appeared as a cloudy fluid consistent with pus. A bedside bronchoscopy revealed an irregular foreign body lodged in the right intermediate bronchus. The hard bone was removed and confirmed to be a soft-shelled turtle bone. A final diagnosis of foreign body-induced empyema, acute respiratory failure, and septic shock was confirmed. The patient showed good recovery after completing a course of broad-spectrum antibiotics and undergoing chest tube drainage. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: Although empyema has been reported previously as a rare complication of long-term retention of an aspirated foreign body, no case has been observed that was as serious as our current patient. In addition, a foreign body aspiration by a soft-shelled turtle bone was never reported before. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, we describe the successful treatment of an adult patient presenting with empyema, accompanied by serious conditions of acute respiratory failure and septic shock induced by aspiration of a soft-shelled turtle bone. Clinicians should consider the possibility of non-iatrogenic foreign body-induced empyema with acute onset of respiratory failure, when a patient’s symptoms cannot be attributed to an alternative obvious cause.