Diagnosis of Foreign Body Aspiration in 74 Children

SUMMARY‏ Foreign body aspiration can be life treatening if it causes acute airway obstruction. For diagnosis the physician must ask for a detailed history and perform physical examination. In this research 74 cases of foreign body aspiration in children between 18 months and 16 Years old are reviewed. These patients came to E.N. T department of Shaheed Rahnemoon Hospital of Yazd for a period of 2 years. In 98.6% of them, the diagnosis was based on history and physical examination. Only in one case, bronchoscopy helped to reach the diagnosis. The following two major symptoms were observed in the beginning of aspiration; 1) Paroxismal cough & weezing in 98.6% of cases. 2) Dyspnea & cyanosis in 59% of cases. In all of the above mentioned cases, the foreign body are removed with a rigid bronchoscope under general anesthesia and no mortalities are recorded.