“Swallowed a pill still in its blister pack”... Woman in her 80s dies of ‘septic shock’ after colon perforation [Health Talk]

[Financial News] A woman in her 80s died of septic shock after her colon was perforated when she swallowed a pill without removing it from its blister pack.
According to Vietnamese media outlets including Tuoi Tre and VietNamNet on the 3rd (local time), Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital disclosed the case and urged caution when administering medication to older patients.
The hospital said the woman, who was over 80, had several underlying conditions and took many medications every day. After experiencing abdominal pain, nausea, a high fever and difficulty breathing over the course of a day, she went to the hospital’s emergency department. An abdominal CT scan showed findings suggesting that a foreign object had perforated her colon.
During emergency surgery, medical staff found a pill still wrapped in its packaging inside her intestine. A sharp edge of the packaging had pierced the colon wall, and an abscess had formed at the site, causing a severe infection. After surgery, the medical team treated her with antibiotics and provided mechanical ventilation and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). But she eventually died of septic shock and multiple organ failure.

This was not the only such case. The hospital said that from January 2025 to August 2026, nine patients needed endoscopy or surgery after swallowing pills still in their packaging. In eight cases, the packaging was removed endoscopically; in most, it had lodged in the esophagus. The remaining patient, aged 66, had a perforated small intestine and underwent removal of part of the intestine, then was discharged five days later. The patient only learned the cause after seeing a photo of the packaging removed during surgery.
The hospital said risk factors include advanced age, taking several medications at the same time, poor eyesight, hand tremors, wearing dentures and memory loss. Dentures can dull the sensation in the roof of the mouth, making it hard to notice hard plastic in the mouth. The habit of tipping several pills into the mouth at once is also risky. Cutting the packaging with scissors and setting it aside to separate the pills can leave sharp edges, and the pieces can easily be mistaken for pills, potentially causing an accident.

Cases of intestinal perforation caused by swallowing pill packaging have also been repeatedly reported in medical literature. In 2018, a research team from the University of Messina in Italy published a case of rectal perforation in a 75-year-old woman in the international journal World Journal of Clinical Cases. The packaging was not detected on her initial CT scan, and she died ten days after surgery.
The research team’s review of literature from 1988 to 2018 found 24 cases of digestive tract perforation caused by packaging, including this patient. The median age was 70, and there were more women (14) than men (10). The ileum, the end portion of the small intestine, was the most common site of perforation, with 15 cases, followed by the esophagus with five. The stomach, duodenum, sigmoid colon and rectum each had one case. The researchers stressed, “Caregivers should be careful when cutting medication packaging in advance.”
Pharmacist Nguyen Quan Nhu Hao of the Department of Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital said, in connection with the case, that people should check the medication name, dosage and time to take it in a well-lit place, and remove the pill completely from its packaging before taking it. The pharmacist also recommended checking that no pieces of plastic or foil remained and taking medication exactly as directed.
Packaged medication should not be put in the mouth and bitten or held there. For older patients, it is best for a family member to check each pill individually. Anyone wishing to sort medication into a pill organizer in advance should consult a pharmacist first.
If you think you may have swallowed a pill still in its packaging, go to the emergency room immediately, even if you have no symptoms. Do not induce vomiting or take laxatives or painkillers on your own. Bringing the remaining packaging or the prescription may help with diagnosis.
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter