Abstract
Foreign bodies may become lodged in various parts of the upper aerodigestive tract and establishing the presence of such foreign bodies is expected from health care practitioners. Foreign bodies may be classically organic or inorganic and their insertion into various parts of the aerodigestive tract may be deliberate or accidental. Majority of inhaled foreignbodies are reported in children and may even go unnoticed. There are scarce reported studies of foreign bodies in the nasopharynx. We are reporting an unusual case in which a foreign body in a child's nasopharynx went unnoticed for 9 months and was found incidentally during adenotonsillectomy.
Highlights
Foreign bodies when lodged in the nasopharynx, are otorhinolaryngological emergencies as they may descend into distal airways and cause upper airway obstruction [1-4]
Encountering aspirated foreign bodies having been lodged in the nasopharynx is a rare encounter and from the available literatures, this is the first documented case in Tanzania of a foreign body incidentally encountered during elective adenotonsillectomy
Foreign bodies isolated to the nasopharynx are uncommon but it should be considered as a potential diagnosis in patients presenting with persistent symptoms or new complaints with a positive history of foreign body aspiration
Summary
Foreign bodies when lodged in the nasopharynx, are otorhinolaryngological emergencies as they may descend into distal airways and cause upper airway obstruction [1-4]. Aspirated foreign bodies are commonly reported in pediatric patients and account for emergencies [1]. Nasopharyngeal foreign bodies (NFBs) tend to produce minimal signs and symptoms and challenging to diagnose [1-3,5]. A radiographic evaluation of the nasopharynx becomes imperative in all cases of untraceable foreign bodies [6-9]. The lodgment sites of aspirated foreign bodies are diverse. A high index of suspicion is necessary and a meticulous examination of nasopharynx is of importance in every case of untraceable foreign body. She reported a history of foul smelling right sided nasal discharge which upon anterior rhinoscopy and x-ray of the nasopharynx revealed no evidence of aspirated foreign body.
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