Leech in the Airway ...

Eternally Solo · #1 ● 02-01-2023, 10:35 PM

I wanna know how it got there in the first place ...

marcos_69 · #2 ● 02-01-2023, 11:18 PM

Oh fucking hell no!

SavageGlow · #3 ● 02-02-2023, 12:19 AM

Fuck that shit! Great post.

ride · #4 ● 02-02-2023, 01:20 AM

Frat bros will swallow anything for beer money.

**kellyhound** · #5 ● 02-02-2023, 03:14 AM

Originally Posted by Eternally Solo ↗

I wanna know how it got there in the first place ...

not the above case but that's usally how the leech gets there.

A 7-year-old child who came from Dedo was admitted to Jimma University Specialized Hospital Department of Pediatrics and Child health on May 29, 2012 with the history of blood stained saliva of 14 days duration and shortness of breath of 3 days duration. There was no history of trauma, foreign body ingestion, throat pain, fever, dysphagia and drug intake.

He has no malena, haematuria, epistaxis or ecchymotic spots on the body. He had no such complaints in the past. He has spring water contact near the vicinity (called ‘Darto spring’ in Dedo woreda Bortolla kebele, South West Ethiopia) which is not protected and is used for both animals and humans.

There is leech in the spring and it affects the cattle and they use traditional medicines made from mixing of tobacco leaves and flax seed (‘telba’). But there was no similar illness to children in the surrounding.

They had tried to give the child this traditional medicine though there was no improvement rather he started to have worsening of bleeding and three days prior to presentation he started to have shortness of breath and stridor. His growth and development is comparable with his peers.

Examination revealed a child with respiratory distress (stridor, intercostals and subcostal retraction) but chest is clear to auscultation and resonant to percussion, normal oral cavity but oropharynx having strikes of blood posteriorly.

His nasal airways were patent without any evidence of epistaxis. There was no other abnormal clinical examination finding other than some pallor and slightly pale conjunctiva.

He was investigated with assessment of Upper airway obstruction secondary to foreign body, plus anemia and bleeding dyscariasis. with CBC, ESR, U/A, S/E, Coagulation profile and X-ray of the chest & neck (PA and Lateral). Plain radiograph of the lateral neck view reveals increase in the prevertebral soft tissues and subglottic narrowing but chest x-ray was found to be normal.

His hemoglobin was 9.8 g/dL, total leukocyte count 8.6 × 109/L with neutrophils 60%, lymphocytes 29.2% and erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 28mm at the end of first hour. Bleeding time, prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were normal while platelet count was 385 × 109 /L. His stool was negative for blood.

The child then was taken to the Operating Theater and under general anesthesia laryngeoscopy was done and it was found that the upper part of the leech was seen at the level of upper trachea first it looks like a blood clot then it was having movement and forceps was applied to takeout alive leech which measures 6cm.

The child then was transferred to the ward with stable vital sign and no active bleeding or sign of respiratory distress. He was observed for 24 hours for development of sign of respiratory distress or any other complication. There was no problem identified then with advice given on the safe water use and discharged home.