Foreign Body Aspiration in Infants and Children

Objective: To describe the characteric features of foreign body aspiration in a group of infants and children by a retrospective evaluation.

Patients: 49 foreign body aspiration cases in 0-12 ages presenting to our center between January 1995 and December 1999- Rigid bronchoscopy under general anesthesia and fluoroscopy had been performed in all patients. All foreign bodies had been removed in one session.

Results: Mean age of the patients was 4.4 years. 55.1% were male and 44.89% female. Time of presentation varied between 1 hour and 1.5 months after aspiration. Only 64% of the patients or their families were aware of the aspiration. The most common complaint was cough (96%). The breathing sounds were decreased in 60% of the patients. All cases had radiological abnormalities. In 20% of the series the extracted foreign body was sunflower seeds. There were no complications following bronchoscopy in any of the patients.

Conclusion: We found rigid bronchoscopy to be an effective and safe diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in children with foreign body aspiration. Especially in recurrent and intractable pneumonia and asthma in childhood, foreign body aspiration must always be kept in mind.