Novel Role of Point‐of‐Care Lung Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Foreign Body Aspiration: A Case Report

ABSTRACT Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a life‐threatening condition predominantly affecting children between 1 and 3 years old, with males being more susceptible. While food items, particularly dried nuts and seeds, are the most common aspirated objects, other items, such as vegetables, beads, and small parts of school equipment, have also been reported. Most foreign bodies lodge in the right main bronchus due to its anatomical structure. Larger objects can obstruct upper airways, causing immediate symptoms, whereas smaller objects may lodge deeper, leading to subtler symptoms. The clinical diagnosis of FBA is challenging because initial symptoms are nonspecific. Radiologic imaging has limitations; chest radiography is normal in the majority of cases. Although chest CT scans offer high sensitivity and specificity, their use is associated with radiation exposure and high costs, which limit their wide availability, especially in resource‐limited settings. Point‐of‐care lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as an accurate, inexpensive, and nonirradiating diagnostic tool for lung pathologies, but its role in foreign body aspiration (FBA) diagnosis is not well established. We report the case of a 1‐year‐old boy who presented with acute chest discomfort, cough, and shortness of breath. Point‐of‐care LUS revealed the absence of lung sliding, a shrugged pleural line, absence of A‐lines, and consolidation (gray hepatization) of the right lung and visualization of cardiac pulsations through the right lung, which indicated a mediastinal shift toward the right lung (affected side). Subsequent chest X‐ray and bronchoscopy confirmed that a coffee seed was lodged in the right main bronchus, which was successfully removed. This case highlights critical LUS features that are suggestive of FBA in the right main bronchus. These findings may guide clinicians using point‐of‐care LUS in the initial evaluation of patients with suspected FBA. They also form a basis for future large‐scale research exploring the role of LUS in the diagnosis of FBA.