While attending class, a 7-year-old boy from Vietnam experienced a terrible accident that changed his life. During class, he accidentally swallowed the cap of a ballpoint pen. The cap became lodged in his airway, causing immediate and serious problems.
The boy began to cough, had trouble breathing, and complained of chest pain. His teacher, noticing something was wrong, quickly rushed him to the school’s medical room for first aid. After that, they transported him to the local medical center.
But things took a frightening turn. On the way there, the boy stopped breathing completely. Medical staff had to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to try to bring him back to life.
Despite these efforts, the boy continued to struggle. His condition worsened, and he was transferred to the provincial hospital. At the hospital, doctors continued performing CPR as they worked desperately to save him.
However, due to the lack of oxygen reaching his brain, the boy suffered from multiple seizures. The doctors immediately decided to transfer him to the National Children’s Hospital for more advanced care.
At the National Children’s Hospital, Doctor Nguyen Tan Hung, Deputy Head of the Emergency and Anti-Poison Department, shared the difficult news: “The child was admitted to the hospital in a very critical condition.
He was given a balloon through the endotracheal tube and is being continuously maintained with cardiac support drugs to ensure heart rate and blood pressure, deep coma, and continuous convulsions.”
The boy’s condition was very serious. Doctors used every possible treatment to try to stabilize him. These included mechanical ventilation to help him breathe, medications to maintain his blood pressure and circulation, and treatments for cerebral edema (swelling in the brain).
Despite these measures, the boy’s seizures continued. The doctors knew that time was running out, so they decided to take immediate action to remove the object blocking his airway.
Master Doctor Vu Tung Lam, from the Respiratory Examination and Exploration Department, explained what they found: “The foreign body removed was a black ballpoint pen tip, about 0.5 x 0.8 cm in size, covering 70% of the right main bronchus.
The child’s airway mucosa on both sides was edematous, with a lot of mucus in the bronchi.”
Even though doctors worked tirelessly to save the boy, the effects of the prolonged cardiac and respiratory arrest, combined with the irreversible brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen, led to his tragic passing. After four days of intense treatment, the boy died, despite the doctors’ best efforts.
This tragic story reminds us of how quickly accidents can happen and how critical it is to take action immediately. The medical team did everything they could to save the boy, but unfortunately, the damage to his brain from lack of oxygen was too severe.
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