Columbia Asia Doctors save Boy who swallowed Live Fish

Bangalore, 10^th July 2018: A 1-year-old boy was brought to the Emergency Department of Columbia Asia Hospital, with an alleged case of accidental ingestion of live fish from an aquarium at home. The boy experienced coughing associated with excessive drooling of blood tinged saliva, and difficulty in breathing.

The incident was witnessed by family at home. On examination by Dr. Senthil Kumar, the child was distressed, breathing abnormally rapidly and wheezing. When his throat was examined, there was excess pooling of saliva with a little blood.  

A soft-tissue X-ray of the neck was taken, suggesting soft tissue shadow in the cricopharyngeal area with anterior displacement, and narrowing of the windpipe anteriorly. A direct laryngoscopy revealed blood tinge oral secretions along the vocal cord edema, but no evidence of the presence of a foreign body was found. The child was intubated and mechanically ventilated due to respiratory distress.

He was shifted to PICU, and when an upper GI endoscopy was done, a whole fish was seen at the fundus of stomach. It was cut into multiple pieces and removed. The child’s condition was managed with ventilator support and supportive medications. He was intubated on his second day at the ICU and he was discharged in a stable condition.