[Pneumopleurocutaneous fistula after inhalation of an ear of barley (Hordeum murinum)].

A 16-month-old boy developed a cutaneous swelling at the base of the right hemithorax with fever. The chest film showed evidence of a very slight pleural effusion and the xerography disclosed subcutaneous emphysema opposite the swelling. Three weeks earlier, the child had been found in a field with an ear of grain in his hand and apparently exhibited a transient episode of choking. An article published several years ago by an anglo saxon author, T.R. Cavens, on pneumocutaneous fistulas secondary to the inhalation of grasses suggested that our patient had a similar condition. The abscess was opened and an ear of barley (Hordeum murinum) was found. Less than ten comparable observations have been published in the literature. We recall a number of botanical facts explaining why an ear of Hordeum murinum can migrate only in the forward direction.