Turkish Archives of Otorhinolaryngology (Jun 2006)
Ear, nose and upper gastrointestinal system foreign bodies in children
Abstract
Objectives: It is aimed to show the types of foreign bodies and the ways to prevent the complications seen in pediatric age group.Methods: The results of 162 patients with a history of ear, nose or upper aero digestive tract foreign bodies were analyzed retrospectively.Results: The children were aged from 6 months to 14 years old. There were 81 (50%) females and 81 (50%) males. The foreign bodies were, bead (n=80), dry food (n=22), eraser (n=13), cotton (n=9), screw (n=7), toys (n=7), coins (n=7), paper (n=6), insect (n=3), naphthalene (n=2), matchstick (n=2), Q-tips (n=2), scotch tape (n=2). There were 90 cases (55.55%) of nasal foreign bodies, in which bead was the most commonly (67.69%) seen; in 65 cases (40.12%) of ear foreign bodies bead was also the most commonly (40%) seen foreign body, whereas in 7 cases (5.5%) coins were the only (100%) foreign body seen in the first narrowing of the esophagus. Tracheobronchial foreign bodies were not included in the study because they were referred to the pediatric surgery department in our hospital. In 112 cases (69%) the removal of the foreign body was performed within the first 24 hours after the foreign body insertion. Twenty of ear foreign bodies (30.7%) and all of the esophageal foreign bodies removed under general anesthesia. Other foreign bodies were removed in emergency room without the need of general anesthesia. External ear canal lacerations in 18 cases (27.69%) and tympanic membrane perforations were observed in 2 cases (3%). Epistaxis was seen in 10 cases (11.11%) after removing the foreign body from the nose. No complication was observed after removal of foreign body from the esophagus.Conclusion: Complications may occur as a result of attempts of removing the foreign bodies. Thus, the effective way to prevent complications is to perform the removal the foreign bodies from the esophagus under general anesthesia. It is also best to remove the foreign bodies from ear and nose under general anesthesia when the child is uncooperative or when unsuccessful attempts have been made.
