Search

BACKGROUND: Rhinoliths are calcified masses formed in the nasal cavity by the deposit of mineral salts. The nest of a rhinolith is usually an exogenous foreign body forgotten in the nose during childhood (seeds, beads, cotton and insects). CLINICAL CASE: A 32-year-old male patient with chronic kidney disease. We were consulted as part of the protocol for the patient’s kidney transplant. Upon questioning, the patient began his current condition 12 years ago with left nasal obstruction, with no apparent triggering cause, accompanied by anterior and posterior left nasal discharge with mucopurulent, fetid characteristics, in moderate amount, with exacerbations and partial remissions to medical treatment with multiple antibiotic regimens at unspecified doses and durations. CONCLUSIONS: Because it is a rare entity, the diagnosis of a rhinolith must have a high clinical suspicion, directing the questioning to the patient and accompanying it with imaging studies; simple computed tomography is the study of choice. Treatment must be surgical, with complete resection of the foreign body, and resolution of the complications that it has generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]