CTICasesAspirated Potassium Chloride Tablet in the Bronchus
Imaging findings
An elderly woman worried about having swallowed something has a rounded opacity overlying the left main bronchus on the frontal radiograph, and the lateral clearly shows a smooth foreign body in the airway. It is the size of a potassium chloride tablet she takes with her Lasix. Bronchoscopy removed a mushy tablet, aided by suction after forceps and basket attempts failed, and the esophagus appears dilated with air.
Key takeaways
An aspirated pill (here a potassium chloride tablet) can appear as a smooth rounded endobronchial foreign body, best appreciated by scrutinizing the air column on the lateral radiograph, where any smooth opacity not explained by a vessel warrants explanation. Coated tablets become slimy and mushy when wet, complicating bronchoscopic retrieval, and underlying esophageal dysmotility or dilatation (common in the very elderly) may predispose to aspiration.
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