Foreign Body Bronchiectasis in an Adult

Aspiration of tracheobronchial foreign bodies (FB) occurs more commonly in children, but under certain circumstances, it also can occur in adults. Common symptoms can be fever, a protracted cough with expectoration, dyspnoea, haemoptysis. Complications of FB aspiration are, recurrent pneumonia, lung abscess and bronchiectasis. The longer a foreign body resides in the airway, the more likely it is to migrate distally. When this occurs, symptoms of chronic cough and wheezing may mimic an asthma like condition. We present a case of a 70 year old man with foreign body bronchiectasis with recurrent lower respiratory infections.