A foreign body complicated by tracheal perforation in the esophagus of a two-year-old child (clinical observation)

Abstract

Foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract remain one of the significant problems in pediatric practice. Ingestion of foreign bodies is typical for children of all ages, but especially for the first 5 years of life. Due to the anatomical features of children, foreign bodies are often located at the level of the first physiological narrowing – in 68% of cases. The mortality rate from foreign bodies is 1%, but with the development of severe complications, this figure increases to 45%. A disc-shaped battery is the most dangerous one for health, as it is capable of causing local infiltrative-necrotic changes, perforation of the esophagus. Disc-shaped batteries as FB (foreign body) form up to 10% of the total number of foreign bodies of the gastrointestinal tract in children. Unfortunately, parents do not immediately seek medical help, since the symptoms indicating the presence of FB are often absent or may manifest as non-specific symptoms. Endoscopic examination serves as a key method in the diagnosis of ingested FB among children and its removal less than 24 hours after ingestion, since any delay reduces the probability of successful intraluminal extraction. This article discusses the clinical observation of a prolonged presence of a foreign body in the esophagus of a toddler child. The clinical course manifested itself in the form of nonspecific symptoms, a foreign body was detected only after a number of studies and was removed by endoscopic method. During the examination of the patient, in addition to the chest X-ray, esophagogastroduodenoscopy and a number of bronchoscopies were performed. Accessible and highly informative methods of instrumental diagnostics available in each clinic of the regional scale, today remain the first stage of the diagnosis of foreign bodies.