Cinical Presentation of Foreign Body Aspiration in Children -An Observational Study

Abstract

Introduction: Aspiration of foreign body (FB) is a life threatening situation in children. A strong suspicion depending upon clinical presentation can lead to early diagnosis and treatment leading to decreased complication and mortality. This study was conducted to observe the clinical presentation of children undergoing rigid bronchoscopic removal of inhaled foreign bodies under general anaesthesia at a tertiary health care centre in north India. Method: A total of 72 bronchoscopic procedures were done in 71 children during the study period from August 2014 to July 2015. Preoperative demographic data, time interval between aspiration and admission, circumstances of aspiration, suspected type and site of FB, clinical presentation of children presented with suspected FB aspiration was evaluated. All the children underwent rigid bronchoscopy under general anaesthesia using controlled mode of ventilation. Result: Incidence of foreign body aspiration was more in male patients (70.4%). Most of the children (80.3%) were ≤3years of age. Most common FB was peanut, found in 42(59.1%) children. FB was predominately located in right bronchus in 37(52.1%) children. Playing and eating were the most common activities found in 34(47.9%) and 32(45.1%) of children respectively. Most common presenting symptom in our study was cough in 49(68.1%) cases, followed by noisy breathing/wheeze in 26(36.1%) cases. Air entry was decreased in 53(73.6%) cases and hyperinflation was the most common chest X-ray finding in 44(61.1%) children.