We often use wooden toothpicks to stake down juicy sliders on game day or to harpoon fruits in happy-hour cocktails, But, little did we know that toothpicks have a vicious side? Swallow it; it will kill you.
According to experts, people who accidentally or unintentionally swallow toothpicks are at the risk of having stab wounds in their GI tract. To make things worse, they may even die from toothpick-inflicted injuries.
A new case study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds out some of the grisly details about toothpick-inflicted injuries.
An anonymous 18-year-old professional athlete had unintentionally swallowed a wooden toothpick. He complained of abdominal pain for weeks, had multiple visits to ERs, experienced bloody poops, and had a life-threatening infection. Doctors finally discovered a toothpick lodged in his colon, which pierced through his intestinal wall and into a large artery. After a harrowing effort, surgeons were able to remove it.
The story began while he was traveling for athletic training in the southeastern US. He had a bout of diarrhea, nausea, fever, and abdominal pain. He visited ER where doctors examined and discharged him without a specific diagnosis. He was given symptomatic treatment.
He felt a bit better for the next two week. However, the abdominal pain recurred while he was on another training trip and this time, he had bloody stools with a temperature above 103F. He visited ER and underwent MRI, but again, nothing could be figured out. The internist advised him to return to his home in New England for further evaluation.
After coming back home, he checked in an outpatient clinic and the internist arranged a colonoscopy for exact diagnosis. However, the next morning, after taking the bowel-preparation regimen for colonoscopy, he had a bowel movement with a large volume of blood. Also, he had chills, fever, and intense abdominal pain. He was advised to visit ER at Massachusetts General Hospital as soon as possible.
He was hospitalized. His fever spiked to 105F. His lab tests found bacteria in his blood. He had palpitations. He was breathing rapidly. His symptoms were indicating sepsis, a medical emergency.
Doctors performed colonoscopy and found a toothpick piercing his colon. Upon plucking it out, he had profuse bleeding. The doctors placed nine clips in his intestines to stop the bleeding, which did not work. The athlete was rushed to surgery to stem the bleeding when it was found that toothpick slashed his large artery. They cut the artery and replaced it with the tissues from a vein in his leg.
He recovered and was discharged from the hospital about a week after the surgery. He was able to walk on his own; however, he was advised seven-month rehabilitation.
One of the doctors told in an interview with The New York Times that after the professional athlete was told that a toothpick was the main culprit, he recalled that he ate a sandwich that did not go down well.
