A single-center experience of pediatric foreign-body aspiration: A retrospective 4-year case series

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Foreign body aspirations (FBA) in children are serious life-threatening clinical conditions that require immediate intervention. In this study, it was aimed to retrospectively investigate the demographic features, clinical diagnosis and treatment methods of children admitted to our clinic due to FBA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 86 children aged <16 years, diagnosed with tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration (FBA) between January 2013 and December 2017. All patients with two-way chest radiography were examined for foreign body aspiration diagnosis. In case of suspicion of diagnosis, low-dose multi-slice chest CT was taken. In cases of FBA diagnosis, rigid bronchoscopy was performed under sevoflurane and propofol anaesthesia supported by controlled ventilation. Evaluation was made of the patient demographic characteristics, type and localization of the foreign body removed with bronchoscopy and operation-related complications. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients with FBA diagnosis was 3.17 years and 55.8% (n = 48) of the patients were male. The most commonly aspirated foreign body was nuts (peanut and hazelnut) (70%) and the most common finding on the chest radiographs was obstructive emphysema, determined on 51% of the patients. Bronchoscopy revealed that the foreign body was in the right main bronchus and left main bronchus in 41%. CONCLUSION: The main treatment for FBA is prevention. However, in patients applied with bronchoscopy for FBA, controlled ventilation and appropriate general anesthesia should be generally used. Early bronchoscopic intervention with safe anesthesia and controlled ventilation support will improve the success rates in FBA cases.