Foreign body in the airway. A review of 200 cases
S. Blazer, Y. Naveh and A. Friedman
Two hundred children aged 6 months to 12 years were admitted to the
hospital with a foreign body in the airway. Food materials constituted 93%
of all foreign bodies. A positive history of foreign body aspiration was
obtained in 88% of the cases. The most common symptoms of laryngotracheal
foreign bodies were dyspnea, cough, and stridor, whereas those of bronchial
foreign bodies were cough, decreased air entry, wheezing, and dyspnea.
Chest fluoroscopy contributed to the diagnosis in 90% of the cases of
bronchial foreign bodies, but only 32% of those in the laryngotracheal
area. Of the foreign bodies removed, 98 1/2% were done by laryngoscopy,
tracheoscopy, and/or bronchoscopy. Complications were involved in 6% of the
cases, including one death. History of recurrent intractable pneumonia
should make one consider a foreign body in the airway. Removal of one
foreign body does not exclude the existence of another. The condition may
be fatal; thus immediate removal of the foreign body is mandatory.
