Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

A prospective study of foreign-body ingestion in 311 children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the preferable management protocol of foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients.

METHODS: All pediatric patients aged less than 12 years who presented with suspected foreign body ingestion in a hospital setting over a period of 3 years were prospectively studied. The usefulness of symptoms and various diagnostic procedures to identify the impacted foreign bodies were analyzed.

RESULTS: Of 311 children aged 4 months to 12 years, 115 foreign bodies were encountered. The presentations in children aged younger than 5 years were markedly different from the older children, who behaved more like adults. All sharp foreign bodies (107 cases or 93%), mostly fish bones (90.4%), were found in the oropharynx under direct vision using either tongue depressor (57%), Macintosh laryngoscope (6%), indirect laryngeal mirror (2%) or transnasal flexible endoscopy (28%). Coins (eight cases or 7%) were the only foreign body impacted at or below the level of cricopharyngeus. A plain cervical X-ray has a low sensitivity (15.9%) and a high specificity (99.5%) in identifying the foreign bodies.

CONCLUSIONS: As the majority of the foreign bodies were sharp bones and situated in the oropharynx, a management protocol involving examination with a tongue depressor, transnasal laryngoscope, selective lateral soft tissue neck X-ray, chest X-ray and watchful observation is usually adequate. Removal of these foreign bodies can be accomplished using a tongue depressor and Macintosh laryngoscope. Patients with a suspected coin ingestion have to be evaluated by X-ray, and a rigid pharyngo-oesophagoscopy should be the mainstay of treatment.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app