FOREIGN BODY ASPIRATION IN CHILDREN

Records of children who underwent bronchoscopy for evaluation of foreign body aspiration in the ENT department, Split Clinical Hospital, during the 1992-2008 period, were reviewed retrospectively. A total of 92 bronchoscopies were done, presenting with a mean age of 3.8 (range 1 to 15 years). The peak incidence of foreign body aspiration is about 2 years of age (40%). The male-female ratio was 59/33 (1.8:1). The foreign body was identified and extracted in 66 % of cases (61 /92) and not identified in 34 % cases (31/92). The most common foreign body was a peanut 33 % (20/61), the nut was extracted in 10 cases, other foreign bodies were pieces of apple, hair or grass, pieces of hotdog, insulation wire and plastic parts of a toy. Of the 92 bronchoscopies, 41 (67%) showed a foreign body commonly located in the right bronchus and 20 (33%) in the left bronchus. The suspicion of foreign body aspiration must be confirmed or excluded by rigid bronchoscopy. Bronchoscopy must be performed in the first 24 or no more than 48 hours after foreign body aspiration to prevent late complications.