Abstract
Foreign body aspiration in children is a problem that can lead to several complications, including death. In this retrospective publication review from 1970 to 2015, there were altogether 42 Malaysian children below the age of 15 y reported with foreign body (FB) ingestion. There were 31 boys and 11 girls between 2 and 177 mo of age. The incidence of FB ingestion in children varied with dietary practices. Peanut was the most common food-related substance inhaled followed by watermelon seed and coconut kernel. The most common non-food related substances were metal objects (toys, springs, hair clips) and plastic objects (ballpoint tips, pencil caps and whistles). Successful removal of FB by bronchoscopy is achieved in the vast majority of cases except for a case of impacted whistle inhalation and a neglected laryngeal FB which required a tracheostomy. One child required thoracotomy for the removal of a peanut in the right bronchus. The incidence of food-related substance inhalation was more common than non-food related substance (30:7). From this review, the key messages are two: first, prevention can be achieved by educating parents not to allow access to small objects or dangerous foods to children below 3 y age; Second, emergency first aid home measures, in the combination form of back blows in the head down position and chest or abdominal thrusts, should be early performed according to the pediatric age group and can be quite effective.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rovin JD, Rodgers BM. Pediatric foreign body aspiration. Pediatr Rev. 2000;21:86–90.
Indudharan R, Ram SP, Sidek DS. Tracheobronchial foreign bodies in relation to feeding practices in young children. J Accid Emerg Med. 1997;14:341–3.
Shanmugham MS. The incidence of inhaled foreign body in West Malaysia. Singap Med J. 1984;25:52–3.
Sahadan DZ, Zainudin NM, Kassim A, et al. Case series of foreign body aspiration in Paediatric Institute, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Med J Malaysia. 2011;66:484–6.
Tang CL, Lee SC, Mohamad Lal A, Thomas RA, Ngui LX, Lim LY. Tracheotomy: an alternative for tracheobronchial foreign body removal. Med J Malaysia. 2014;69:241–3.
Rusydi WZA, Asma A, Goh BS. Hidden foreign body in an unexplained asthma. Bangladesh J Otorhinolaryngol. 2012;18:200–2.
Sharma HS, Sharma S. Management of laryngeal foreign bodies in children. J Accid Emerg Med. 1999;16:150–3.
Ambu VK, Narayanan P, Ratnasingam V. Neglected laryngeal foreign body. J Laryngol Otol. 2001;115:740–2.
Elhassani NB. Aspirated tracheobronchial foreign bodies in infants. An analysis of 50 cases. J R Coll Surg Edinb 1978;23:310–314.
Timmers M, Snoek K, Gregori D, Felix JF, van Dijk M, Van AAB. Foreign bodies in a pediatric emergency department in South Africa. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2012;28:1348–52.
Wolach B, Raz A, Weinberg J, Mikulski Y, Ben Ari J, Sadan N. Aspirated foreign bodies in the respiratory tract of children: eleven years experience with 127 patients. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 1994;30:1–10.
Blazer S, Naveh Y, Friedman A. Foreign body in the airway. A review of 200 cases. Am J Dis Child. 1980;134:68–71.
Cohen SR, Herbert WI, Lewis GB, Geller KA. Foreign bodies in the airway. Five-year retrospective study with special reference to management. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1980;89:437–42.
Esclamado RM, Richardson MA. Laryngotracheal foreign bodies in children. A comparison with bronchial foreign bodies. Am J Dis Child. 1987;141:259–62.
Mantel K, Butenandt I. Tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration in childhood. A report on 224 cases. Eur J Pediatr. 1986;145:211–6.
Foltran F, Ballali S, Passali FM, et al. Foreign bodies in the airways: a meta-analysis of published papers. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2012;76:S12–9.
Foltran F, Ballali S, Rodriguez H, et al. Inhaled foreign bodies in children: a global perspective on their epidemiological, clinical, and preventive aspects. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2013;48:344–51.
Black RE, Johnson DG, Matlak ME. Bronchoscopic removal of aspirated foreign bodies in children. J Pediatr Surg. 1994;29:682–4.
Paşaoğlu I, Doğan R, Demircin M, Hatipoğlu A, Bozer AY. Bronchoscopic removal of foreign bodies in children: retrospective analysis of 822 cases. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1991;39:95–8.
Hoeve LJ, Rombout J, Pot DJ. Foreign body aspiration in children. The diagnostic value of signs, symptoms and pre-operative examination. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci. 1993;18:55–7.
Thompson GP, Utz JP, McDougall JC. Pediatric tracheobronchial foreign bodies. A case report. Minn Med. 1993;76:19–21.
Soboczyński A, Skuratowicz A, Grzegorowski M, Chwirot-Głyda I. The problem of lower respiratory tract foreign bodies in children. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Belg. 1993;47:443–7.
Mu LC, Sun DQ, He P. Radiological diagnosis of aspirated foreign bodies in children: review of 343 cases. J Laryngol Otol. 1990;104:778–82.
Svedström E, Puhakka H, Kero P. How accurate is chest radiography in the diagnosis of tracheobronchial foreign bodies in children? Pediatr Radiol. 1989;19:520–2.
Halvorson DJ, Merritt RM, Mann C, Porubsky ES. Management of subglottic foreign bodies. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1996;105:541–4.
Battersby EF. Pediatric anaesthesia, Vol. 6, 5th ed. London: Butterworth; 1987. p. 503–26.
Gray-Donald K, Kramer MS, Munday S, Leduc DG. Effect of formula supplementation in the hospital on the duration of breast-feeding: a controlled clinical trial. Pediatrics. 1985;75:514–8.
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine: first aid for the choking child. Pediatrics. 1993;92:477–9.
Guidelines for paediatric life support. Paediatric life support working party of the European resuscitation council. BMJ. 1994;308:1349–55.
Heimlich HJ. A life-saving maneuver to prevent food-choking. JAMA. 1975;234:398–401.
Day RL. Comments on first aid for victims of choking. An extension of remarks made upon receiving the 1986 Howland Award. Acceptance of the Howland Award 1986. Pediatr Res. 1986;20:1013–4.
Gendeh HS, Hashim ND, Mohammad Yunus MR, Gendeh BS, Kosai NR. The sequelae of barium aspiration. ANZ J Surg. 2018;88:937–8.
Rodríguez H, Passali GC, Gregori D, et al. Management of foreign bodies in the airway and oesophagus. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2012;76:S84–91.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
None.
Source of Funding
None.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gendeh, B.S., Gendeh, H.S., Purnima, S. et al. Inhaled Foreign Body Impaction: A Review of Literature in Malaysian Children. Indian J Pediatr 86 (Suppl 1), 20–24 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-018-2824-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-018-2824-8