Overlooked foreign body: eighteen years inside the bronchus.

A long-standing undiagnosed foreign body bronchus in an adult is very rare. We report a rare case of an overlooked foreign body in the bronchus. A 38-year-old man presented with the complaints of chronic cough with expectoration and wheezing for the last 18 years. Computed tomography of the chest detected a foreign body in the right lower lobar bronchus. Detailed history revealed that the patient had aspirated a whistle 18 years earlier that was overlooked by the treating clinicians. It remained undiagnosed in chest radiographs. It was extracted using a rigid bronchoscope. We emphasize the need to remain vigilant for endobronchial foreign bodies in patients with persistent cough and wheeze.