Abstract:
Introduction. Injury due to foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a common and serious pediatric
emergency, requiring prompt recognition and early treatment to minimize the potentially serious
and sometimes fatal consequences. FBA continues to be a cause of childhood morbidity and
mortality, usually in pre-school children.
Aim of the study. Case assesment of FBA in children based upon age, gender, locality and level
of respiratory tract lesion. Materials and methods. The cohort study included 106 patients hospitalized between 2011 -
2016 in Pneumology Department, Mother and Child’s Institute of the Republic of Moldova,
diagnosed with FBA, confirmed via bronchoscopy performed with general inhalative anesthesia.
Foreign body extraction was carried out by means of rigid bronchoscopy after thorough
aspiration and prevention of mucosal bleeding. Statistics were assessed using the EpiInfosoftware.
Results. It was established that pediatric FBA in the respiratory tract is more frequent among
girls 57.5%: 95CI, 47.6 – 67.1 cases (61 girls) and 42.5%: 95CI, 32.9 – 52.4 cases (45 boys). The
average age (aa) was 1.9±0.17 years, varying between 0.6–14 years. The batch was divided into
3 groups according to childhood stages: 1) the most frequent FBA was estimated in toddlers –
88.9%: 95 CI, 81.1 – 94 cases, aa 1.57±0.06 years; 2) in children > 3y.o. – 8.5%: 95CI, 4 - 15.5
cases, aa 6.4±1.1 years; 3) and it was rarely found in infants – 2.8%: 95CI, 0.6 - 15.5 cases, aa
0.76±0.11 years (F statistic = 93.5; p<0,0001). There was a prevalence of accidental FBA in
children from countryside – 67%: 95CI, 57.2 - 75.8 cases, less often this event occured in
children from urban areas – 24.5%: 95CI, 16.7 - 33.8 cases and episodically – in children from
municipalities (8.5%: 95CI, 4 – 15,5 cases). The majority of foreign bodies were found in the
bronchial tree 89.6%: 95CI, 82.2 – 94.7 cases; without designation – in 6 – 5.7%: 95CI, 2.1 –
11.9 cases; in trachea and larynx 2 and 3 cases (1.9%: 95CI, 0.2 - 6.6 and 2.8%: 95CI, 0.6 -8).
Conclusions. FBA prevails in girls – 57.5%: 95CI, 47.6 – 67.1 cases. The most vulnerable age is
from 1 to 3 y.o. when children are more often exposed to habitual accidents (statistic factor =
93.5; p<0,0001). There is evidence of a critical situation in the rural areas, compared to the urban
ones. By localization the most frequent lodgment of foreign bodies was in the bronchi.
