Pen lid aspirations of school aged children: educators and parents should pay attention to an issue

Abstract

AimForeign body aspiration is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in childhood. Determining and removing aspirated foreign bodies from the airways is important in preventing complications. This research aims to in-vestigate the features of tracheobronchial aspiration pen lid cases admitted to Van 100. Yil University Medical Faculty Chest Surgery Clinic, and to find out whether these data are consistent with the literature.MethodsThirteen pediatric patients who were admitted to our clinics between 1995 and 2007 with the diagnosis of pen lid aspiration, were retrospectively reviewed in terms of gender, age, complaints, timing of consultation, physical examination findings, radiologic findings and, localization of the foreign body, types of treatment given, complications and mortality.ResultsOf the patients 6 (46.2%) were male and 7 (53.8%) were female. The range of age was 7-14 years, and mean age was 9.2 ± 5.6. The most common complaint was unexpected coughing in symptomatic patients. Other frequent symptoms were respiratory distress and wheezing. It has also been revealed that of all the cases, 6 (46.2%) admitted to the hospital in the first 6 hours, 5 (38.4%) in 24 hours, and 2 patients (15.4%) consulted in the hospital after more than 72 hours elapsed. Nine (69.2%) of the foreign bodies were located in the right bronchial tree, 4 (30.8%) were in the left. The foreign bodies were taken out by rigid bronchoscopy in all cases. There were no complications and mortality in this group.ConclusionsPen lids aspiration for school-age childern is a significant danger, they are mainly accidentally among the school-age children. This series has been compiled to underline the fact that these events can be prevented by simple precautions by parents and teachers.

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