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.