Bangalore: Doctors of a private hospital in the city have been successful in saving the life of a one-year-boy, who swallowed a live fish. The boy was brought to the Emergency Department of a privat hospital in Whitefield, with alleged history of accidental ingestion of whole live fish from an aquarium at home. He had been coughing, associated with excessive drooling of blood tinged saliva and difficulty in breathing.

The incident was witnessed by family at home. On examination, baby was irritable, and the patient’s throat was examined which showed excess pooling of saliva only with little blood.

With difficult airway team at the patient’s side, immediate X-ray soft tissue neck was taken which suggested soft tissue shadow in the cricopharyngeal area with anterior displacement and narrowing of the trachea anteriorly.

The child was intubated and mechanically ventilated in view of worsening breathlessness and respiratory distress and while doing direct laryngoscopy, blood tinge oral secretions along with vocal cord edema were noted. However, there was no evidence of any foreign body seen. He was shifted to PICU and an upper GI Endoscopy was done, whole fish was seen at the fundus of stomach which was cut into multiple pieces and removed.

Baby was managed with ventilator support and supportive medications. Over the course of stay in ICU, his condition improved and he was intubated on second day of ICU stay and discharged in stable condition, said the doctors.

SOURCE : http://www.bfirst.in/category/bengaluru/bengaluru-doctors-save-a-boy-who-swallowed-live-fish-500193