Why humans should not eat broom straws: Pericarditis and endocarditis

A broom straw was ingested and penetrated the esophageal wall, the pericardial space and its tip became lodged in the coronary sinus. Bacterial pericarditis and then fungal endocarditis ensued but were temporally separated by an asymptomatic 6-month period. On transthoracic echocardiography, the str...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: William Edward Novotny, Cynthia P Keel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020-01-01
Series:Annals of Pediatric Cardiology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.annalspc.com/article.asp?issn=0974-2069;year=2020;volume=13;issue=2;spage=144;epage=146;aulast=
Description
Summary:A broom straw was ingested and penetrated the esophageal wall, the pericardial space and its tip became lodged in the coronary sinus. Bacterial pericarditis and then fungal endocarditis ensued but were temporally separated by an asymptomatic 6-month period. On transthoracic echocardiography, the straw was mistakenly identified to be a “prominent Thebesian valve.” This child survived both life-threatening infections. The occurrence of infections caused by unusual organisms in the setting of immunocompetence highlights the need for a high index of suspicion for the presence of a causative foreign body.
ISSN:0974-2069