Abstract:
Background: Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a typical occurrence in children. The clinical signs are influenced by various causes, and the differential
diagnosis is important, especially when the suffocation crisis is not recognized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and imaging symptoms
in children with FBA.
Material and methods: A retrospective study is provided of 156 children who were hospitalized and examined (clinical and paraclinical tests) in the
Pneumology Clinic between 2011 and 2020 after having a foreign body removed from their airways, using rigid tube bronchoscopy or fibrobronchoscopy.
Results: The most affected age group was 1-3 years, which constituted 77.6% (95% CI 70.2% -83.8%). The most common symptoms were: cough – 98.7%
(95% CI 95.4%-99.8%), dyspnoea – 94.2% (95% CI 89.3%-97.3%), wheezing – 61.5% (95% CI 53.4%-69.2%). Chest radiography was relevant for foreign
body aspirations in 55.8% of cases (95% CI 47.6%-63.7%). The foreign body was extracted from the right bronchus in 32.1%, from the left bronchus in
21.8% of cases, from the lobar / segmental bronchi – 22.5%, and in 21.2% – multiple locations. The etiological structure of the endobronchial foreign
body was dominated by the organic ones – 96.8%.
Conclusions: Cough, dyspnoea, and wheezing are suggestive of this pediatric emergency. Chest radiography provides diagnostic information only for
every second child.
Description:
Department of Pediatrics, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova