Fire-eater Pneumonitis: Silent Aspiration and Spontaneous Resolution
YK Cheung, KK Lau, X Li
Hong Kong J Radiol 2008;11:126-8
A 15-year-old street entertainer inadvertently and unknowingly aspirated a small volume of liquid hydrocarbon fuel during a fire breathing performance. Two days later, he developed pleuritic chest pain, fever, and vomiting. A chest radiograph revealed airspace consolidation, which later developed into a cavitating lesion consistent with exogenous lipoid pneumonitis. Full recovery with spontaneous resolution of the radiological changes occurred after 6 weeks.