LARYNGOSCOPE 107/1 (1997) 17-20

Pediatric aerodigestive foreign body injuries are complications related to timeliness of diagnosis

Reilly J., Thompson J., MacArthur C., Pransky S., Beste D., Smith M., Gray S. , Manning S., Walter M., Derkay C., Muntz H., Friedman E., Myer C.M., Seibert R. , Riding K., Cuyler J., Todd W., Smith R.

Dept. of Pediatric Otolaryngology, A.I. duPont Children's Hospital, Wilmington, DE, USA

Abstract
Foreign body (FB) injury from aspiration or ingestion is a common pediatric health problem. Diagnosis relies on clinical judgment plus medical history, physical examination, and radiographic evaluation. A multi- institutional review of 1269 FB events revealed that 85% were correctly diagnosed following a single physician encounter. However, 15% of the children had an elusive diagnosis (>1 week), despite previous evaluation. Delays in diagnosis were seven times more likely to occur in aspirations than in ingestions. Secondary injuries (e.g., pneumonia and atelectasis) occurred in 13% of airway FBs but in only 1.7% of esophageal FBs. Plain radiographs were used in 82% of children, and special studies (e.g., fluoroscopy) in only 7%. We conclude that diagnosis of FB injury in children is frequently achieved at the initial evaluation but that continued surveillance by follow- up visits to health care facilities from parents and other caretakers is important, to reduce pulmonary injuries.

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