SONOGRAPHIC DETECTION OF INGESTED FOREIGN-BODIES IN THE INFERIOR VENA-CAVA

Ingested foreign bodies usually proceed uneventfully through the intes tinal tract; complications rarely occur. The wide variety of clinical presentations they produce often make the diagnosis difficult. We repo rt two cases of sonographic detection of foreign bodies in the inferio r vena cava, namely one toothpick and one small (chicken?) bone, which probably caused a duodenocaval fistula, Both patients were initially investigated for recurrent septic episodes, weight loss, and deteriora tion of general condition.