The 80-year-old’s X-ray created complete confusion among the doctors: Look what they found!

An 80-year-old Chinese man was rushed to the hospital with chest pain and difficulty breathing.

When the doctors took a closer look at the man, they understood nothing.

On Monday, the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet published an X-ray of the man on its Facebook page.

– What do you think this is? they ask.

The very special image has caused a great stir among the magazine’s more than 350,000 followers.

Rattles from the lungs

In The Lancet, it was previously possible to read that the man had a long medical history with both diabetes, heart attack and kidney disease.

When he arrived at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, his ankles were swollen and there were rales from his lungs.

An electrocardiogram (ECG) and a blood test confirmed that he had a heart attack.

After inserting stents [små sylindrer/rør] in two of the heart’s coronary arteries, the man began to vomit and developed a fever.

A new X-ray of his chest revealed a new, troubling spot in his right lung.

Dreaded bite inhalation

The doctors suspected that the man had inhaled his own dentures, and raised the alarm.

They were no less concerned when they took a closer look at the X-ray and discovered what they describe as a “complex object with a microchip, battery and an electronic circuit”.

Cared for a sick “hedgehog” – received a shock message

Measures blood sugar

It turned out to be a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) they were looking at.

A glucose meter, also called a sensor, is used to continuously measure blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

Fortunately, the sensor, which is attached to the body with tape, had not ended up in the man’s lung.

It had slipped from his upper arm to his back, and therefore suddenly appeared on the X-ray.

Complete confusion

– We treated the patient as if he had contracted a hospital infection. He got better after receiving intravenous antibiotics, they write.

After 14 days, the 80-year-old could be discharged from hospital. He was in good shape when he attended a follow-up examination two weeks later.

In The Lancet, the doctors warn, and write that this case emphasizes the importance of healthcare personnel being able to recognize glucose meters.

In this way, complete confusion can be avoided, they believe.

– As glucose meters become more and more popular, healthcare professionals must be able to recognize the devices. They must know that they can move to unexpected positions which can cause consternation during an X-ray examination, they write.

The doctors say that the man unfortunately died of another heart attack six months later.