Volume 178 - Issue 4
A bitter pill to swallow
Authors: Peter A Monksfield, Olivia JH Whiteside, Stuart CA Winter, Nicholas B Steventon and Graham J Cox
Med J Aust 2003; 178 (4): 189. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2003.tb05146.x
Published online: 17 February 2003
Published online: 17 February 2003
An elderly patient with diabetes presented with oesophageal obstruction after taking a regular dose of metformin. A lateral neck radiograph confirmed the presence of an obstruction in the upper oesophagus. The patient underwent rigid oesophagoscopy, at which time the tablet, complete with packaging, was removed (see Box). The patient went on to make a full recovery.
