Spent Bullet in the Bronchus

A rare case of migration of ballistic projectile from left to right main bronchus

A foreign body in the bronchus due to a ballistic projectile is very uncommon. A 45-year-old man presented to the hospital after being accidentally shot. The initial radiographic assessment found a bullet in his left thoracic cavity. With the help of an X-ray, an urgent left posterolateral thoracotomy was conducted, but no foreign body was found. The foreign body had migrated to the contralateral chest cavity, as determined by the C-arm. On the following day, a thorax computed tomography scan was conducted, and it was discovered that the foreign body had already migrated to the right lower bronchus. A right thoracotomy was then performed to remove the foreign body. He was moved to the intensive care unit and discharged with a stable condition. In conclusion, migration of a foreign body in the bronchus is rare. A thorough strategy is required to prevent the object from migrating even further.

Systematic review of the anaesthetic management of non-iatrogenic acute adult airway trauma

INTRODUCTION

Non-iatrogenic trauma to the airway is rare and presents a significant challenge to the anaesthetist. Although guidelines for the management of the unanticipated difficult airway have been published, these do not make provision for the 'anticipated' difficult airway. This systematic review aims to inform best practice and suggest management options for different injury patterns.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted using Embase, Medline, and Google Scholar for papers after the year 2000 reporting on the acute airway management of adult patients who suffered airway trauma. Our protocol and search strategy are registered with and published by PROSPERO (http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO, ID: CRD42016032763).

RESULTS

A systematic literature search yielded 578 articles, of which a total of 148 full-text papers were reviewed. We present our results categorized by mechanism of injury: blunt, penetrating, blast, and burns.

CONCLUSIONS

The hallmark of airway management with trauma to the airway is the maintenance of spontaneous ventilation, intubation under direct vision to avoid the creation of a false passage, and the avoidance of both intermittent positive pressure ventilation and cricoid pressure (the latter for laryngotracheal trauma only) during a rapid sequence induction. Management depends on available resources and time to perform airway assessment, investigations, and intervention (patients will be classified into one of three categories: no time, some time, or adequate time). Human factors, particularly the development of a shared mental model amongst the trauma team, are vital to mitigate risk and improve patient safety.

Bronchoscopic retrieval of a bullet using a Dormia basket: a case report

Introduction

Penetrating bullet injury to the trachea is a rarity, and therefore standardized procedure for injury management and foreign body removal has not been established. This is a case report describing retrieval of a bullet from the bronchus intermedius using flexible bronchoscopy and a Dormia basket.

Case presentation

A 19-year-old African American woman presented with a gunshot wound to her right neck just lateral to the sternal head of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and just superior to the clavicle. Imaging showed a bullet lodged within her right bronchus with no evidence of vascular injury. Fiberoptic flexible bronchoscopy in combination with biopsy forceps and a Dormia basket were used for bullet removal.

Conclusions

Removal of foreign bodies from the airway is essential in order to avoid complications such as tracheal stenosis, pneumonia, bronchiectasis and foreign body migration. To the best of our knowledge, this case is one of only several cases reporting the use of flexible bronchoscopy for bullet removal, and this is the only case to describe the use of a Dormia basket. This case demonstrates bronchoscopy as a safe and effective means of minimally invasive removal of a bullet fragment from the bronchus in a trauma setting.

Traumatic tracheostomy and spent bullet aspiration after a gunshot injury: a case report

Penetrating tracheal injuries are rare. Even rarer is the finding of intrabronchial foreign bodies caused by penetrating objects. We report a patient who experienced a gunshot injury to the trachea and mandible. The tracheal wound was debrided and used as a tracheostomy; a spent bullet in the bronchial tree was missed on initial evaluation but later successfully retrieved bronchoscopically. Spent bullet aspiration is a very rare occurrence. A careful examination of radiographs is essential to aid with the diagnosis. Flexible bronchoscopy is the best means of bullet retrieval. Management of any associated injuries is made easier after the airway is secured.