[Paediatric breathlessness caused by aspiration of a foreign body in food].

Two one-year-old boys were seen by a paediatrician with symptoms of increasing breathlessness and inspiratory stridor. Upon the probable diagnosis subglottic laryngitis and toddler's asthma, respectively, they were admitted to hospital for medical treatment. Because they failed to recover sufficiently with this treatment, an ENT specialist subsequently performed a laryngotracheobronchoscopy under general anaesthesia. A fish-bone and chicken-bone, respectively, were found and removed from the larynx. In retrospect, the parents of both children realized that onset of symptoms followed a choking incident. These case histories illustrate the importance of active questioning concerning the onset of symptoms in order to differentiate between possibly causes. Endoscopy of the airways is required when parents mention a triggering moment or if the course of respiratory complaints is atypical.