Ilyas Bader, Amjad Ch, Naeem uz Zafar Khan.
Tracheobronchial foreign bodies: A review and analysis during past one year at children`s hospital, PIMS, Islamabad.
Pak J Med Sci Jan ;19(1):57-60.

Objective: In view of changing patterns, to identify most common type of foreign bodies in tracheobronchial tree of children. To make recommendations for appropriate measures to prevent the incidence of inhalation. Design: This descriptive study was carried out between April 2001 to March 2002 on 108 children. Setting: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children Hospital, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad. Results: We studied 108 patients out of whom 68 were male (63%) and 40 were female (37%). The mean age was 3.97years. Most common symptoms were dyspnoea in 88 (81%). 35 patients (32%) had insignificant X-ray findings. 65 patients (60%) had hyperinflation. 3 patients (2.7%) had atelectasis. One patient had bronchiectasis, one with emphysematous change and one had pleural effusion. The most common organic foreign bodies 28 had pieces of peanuts (26%) and next most common 11 had beetle nuts (10%). Most common inorganic foreign bodies 26 in our series was a whistle (24%), followed by 13 metallic rings (12.2%), metal nails, safety pins, pallets, watch batteries and ring stones. Conclusions: Aspiration of foreign body into tracheobronchial tree in children carries a high risk to life but adequate and prompt treatment is associated with very low mortality. Health care education is the key to prevention. Industrial manufacturing laws with regard to quality control and safety of production of various toys to which children are commonly exposed should be forcefully implemented.

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