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Foreign body aspiration following unconventional use of a metered dose inhaler

Paolo Campisi , MSC MD ^*, Steven B. Backman , MDCM PhD FRCPC and Robert Sweet , MDCMFRCSC^*

^* From the Departments of Otolaryngology and
Anesthesia, Royal Victoria Hospital and McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Address correspondence to: Address correspondence to: Dr. S.B. Backman, Department of Anesthesia, Royal Victoria Hospital, 687 Pine Ave. W., Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1 Canada. Phone: 514-842-1231 (Ext. 4880); Fax: 514-843-1723; E-mail: mdba{at}musica.mcgill.ca

Purpose: Aspiration of a foreign body may be life-threatening. This report describes laryngeal obstruction after inhalation of a piece of a Turbuhaler® which resulted from a patient tampering with the device.

Clinical features: A 27-yr-old man disassembled a Turbuhaler® and inadvertently aspirated a plastic dispensing medication disc (22 mm diameter) while attempting to inhale the remnant terbutaline sulfate which accumulated on it. Although the patient was hoarse, he was not in acute respiratory distress. X-ray revealed the disc lodged in the larynx below the vocal cords. The patient was immediately transferred to an operating theatre, and a drying agent (glycopyrrolate), judicious sedation (midazolam and fentanyl) and O₂ were administered. The airway was anesthetized with lidocaine 4% delivered using high-flow O₂ through an atomizer. Direct laryngoscopy revealed a partially obstructed view of the disc lodged distal to the vocal cords which was inaccessible for retrieval. Loss of consciousness was subsequently induced by spontaneous mask ventilation with sevoflurane (in O₂). The airway was visualized using a suspension laryngoscope and the foreign body was removed with grasping forceps. The patient was awakened, transferred to the ICU and given 4 mg decadron iv every eight hours (two doses). Laryngoscopy prior to discharge indicated good mobility of the vocal cords and normal glottic structure.

Conclusion: Aspiration of a foreign body is a potentially life-threatening situation requiring coordination between anesthesiologist, surgeon, and nursing staff. Anesthetic goals include avoidance of upper airway obstruction and maintenance of adequate ventilation while the foreign body is retrieved. Provisions must be made for tracheostomy if these goals cannot be realized.