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Previous Volume 348:1016 March 13, 2003 Number 11 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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View larger version (86K): [in this window] [in a new window]   An 80-year-old man underwent esophagogastroduodenography with barium contrast medium to investigate long-standing dysphagia. During the examination, the patient aspirated contrast material into his lungs. Forty-eight hours later, he presented with a dry cough, fever, tachypnea, and hypotension. The chest radiograph shows massive bilateral aspiration of barium. The patient was immediately intubated, mechanically ventilated, and treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics and vasopressors. Despite aggressive medical treatment, refractory hypotension developed, and the patient died. Aspiration of large amounts of barium sulfate is an uncommon complication of radiologic studies of the upper digestive tract. The problem is generally not serious, because barium sulfate is . . . [Full Text of this Article]

 

Related Letters:

Aspiration of Barium
Whiting J., Fruchter O.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2003; 348:2582-2583, Jun 19, 2003. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Fadoo, F., Ruiz, D. E., Dawn, S. K., Webb, W. R., Gotway, M. B. (2004). Helical CT Esophagography for the Evaluation of Suspected Esophageal Perforation or Rupture. Am. J. Roentgenol. 182: 1177-1179 [Full Text]  
• Whiting, J., Fruchter, O. (2003). Aspiration of Barium. NEJM 348: 2582-2583 [Full Text]