Foreign body aspiration in the adult: an occult cause of chronic pulmonary symptoms

We describe two otherwise healthy subjects with many years sequelae due to lung aspiration. In both, diagnosis was delayed due to lack of history of aspiration. Recurrent pneumonia in the same segment in one, and migratory pneumonia in the other, could have suggested the diagnosis. Review of the literature shows that occult foreign body aspiration poses difficulties in diagnosis and that often a history of aspiration is lacking. However, the recurrent nature and the localization of the pneumonia, as well as the findings during bronchoscopy, should alert the physician to the possibility of foreign body aspiration.