The opaque chest: when to suspect a bronchial foreign body.

A bronchial foreign body should be strongly suspected in a child with an opaque chest without a previous history of airways disease when there is: any sign of volume loss or atelectasis in the lung density and bronchiectasis within the lung density. Ultrasound may be helpful to rule out the presence of pleural fluid and may even demonstrate the bronchiectasis when the bronchi are fluid-filled.