Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Mar 6, 2024; 12(7): 1365-1370
Published online Mar 6, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i7.1365
Translocation of a fish spike from the pharynx to the thyroid gland: A case report
Deng Li, Wan-Ting Zeng, Jian-Guo Jiang, Ji-Chuan Chen
Deng Li, Wan-Ting Zeng, Jian-Guo Jiang, Ji-Chuan Chen, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Army Medical Center of PLA, Chongqing 400042, China
Co-first authors: Deng Li and Wan-Ting Zeng.
Author contributions: Li D and Zeng WT contributed to manuscript writing and editing and data collection; Jiang JG contributed to the data analysis; Chen JC contributed to conceptualization and supervision; and all the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent has been obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ji-Chuan Chen, MD, Doctor, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Army Medical Center of PLA, Changjiang Road, Chongqing 400042, China. dengdengst@foxmail.com
Received: December 16, 2023
Peer-review started: December 16, 2023
First decision: January 9, 2024
Revised: January 17, 2024
Accepted: February 3, 2024
Article in press: February 3, 2024
Published online: March 6, 2024
Processing time: 75 Days and 20.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

A fish spike stuck in the throat is a common ear, nose, and throat (ENT) emergency. However, it is very rare for a fish spike to reach the thyroid tissue through the throat, which is very dangerous and can lead to pharyngeal fistula, cervical abscess, mediastinal abscess, and thyroid abscess. Proper and timely management can help reduce complications, especially in elderly patients.

CASE SUMMARY

In the case presented here, the causative factor was dentures, but improper management aggravated the condition. In the case presented here, an elderly woman with a history of accidentally swallowing fish bones for 20 d had a sensation of foreign bodies in her throat. Eventually, computed tomography (CT) of the neck showed that the left side of the thyroid gland had a dense shadow in the form of a stripe.

CONCLUSION

If a fishbone foreign body is not visible during endoscopic examination but the patient has significant symptoms, the surgeon should be aware that the fishbone may be lodged in the thyroid. To avoid a misdiagnosis, ultrasound, CT, and other tests can be used to clarify the diagnosis. T The first step in treating a fish bone in the thyroid gland is to determine the position of the foreign body and the extent of the infection, and to develop a personalized surgical plan for its removal. At the same time, scientific information should be made available to the general public so that people know that if a fish bone is accidentally lodged, they should not force it to be swallowed or be spit out by inducing vomiting, which are incorrect methods and may aggravate the condition or even cause it to migrate outside the cavity, leading to serious complications, as in this reported case.

Keywords: Fish spike; Thyroid; Pharynx; Foreign body migration; Case report

Core Tip: A fish spike stuck in the throat is a common ear, nose, and throat emergency. However, it is extremely rare for a fish spike to penetrate the thyroid tissue through the throat. This approach can be extremely dangerous and can lead to pharyngeal fistula, cervical abscess, mediastinal abscess, thyroid abscess, and other serious complications. Proper and timely management is crucial for reducing complications, particularly in elderly patients. Comprehensive scientific information must be provided to people to ensure that they seek proper and timely medical attention in a case of fish spike ingestion. PubMed-indexed cases can be analyzed to obtain this information and avoid serious complications.