Foreign body aspiration.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the clinical and radiological profile of foreign body aspiration in children reaching a tertiary care center and identify areas of possible interventions for proper management of such cases.

SETTING

Tertiary level teaching hospital.

SUBJECTS: Case records of patients suspected to have foreign body aspiration over the past four years were analyzed. Clinico-radiological features, types and location of foreign bodies were studied.

RESULTS

Of 75 children who underwent rigid bronchoscopy, 70 had tracheo-bronchial foreign bodies. History of choking was elicited in 90 percent cases. In 30 percent cases chest radiographs were non-contributory, while the commonest finding (63 percent) was distal emphysema. Over three-fourth of the cases were below the age of 2 years. Vegetative foreign bodies, mainly peanuts, were commonly present. In many cases, referral was delayed as the diagnosis was missed initially.

CONCLUSION

Foreign body aspiration remains a common unintentional childhood injury due to improper exposure of young children to otherwise innocuous looking nuts and other small objects.