A bitter pill to swallow

Foreign body aspirationcan be a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate intervention. However, unlike in children, clinical presentation of foreign bodiesin adults often varies with regard to symptoms and signs and occurs without asphyxia. We here describe the case of a 65-year-old man on maintenance hemodialysis who developed dyspnea and left chest aspiration pneumoniaafter swallowingone tablet of the phosphate binder sevelamer. This case illustrates that elderly patients with swallowingcomplaints should be taken serious when they complain about their subsequent frustration of ingestion of their pills.