An Unusual Foreign Body in a Three Months Old Infant – A Case Report

Abstract

Foreign body in the aerodigestive tract is common, but ingested foreign body lodging in the nasopharynx is rare and likely to be missed. We present an unusual case of a 3 month old infant who presented with a history of gagging, excessive crying and irritability, drooling of saliva and refusal to suck. A foreign body (mirror) was found lodged in his nasopharynx. The FB was removed under general anaesthesia with no complication. I. Introduction Although unusual aerodigestive tract foreign bodies (FB) are common among children, its lodgment in the nasopharynx is not a usual finding , .The nose is the usual conduit for FB found in the nasopharynx, an unskilled attempt at removal of a nasal foreign body can push it backwards and occasionally may be lodged in the nasopharynx. Most of the foreign bodies entering the oral cavity pass into the esophagus and some are inhaled into the trachea. Report of FB introduced through the oral cavity getting lodged into the nasopharynx is unusual and very rareError! Bookmark not defined. , , this is due to the fact that the nasopharynx is capacious and the presence of nasopharyngeal sphincter prevents regurgitation of FB into the nasopharynx. Patient with FB in the ingestion that got impacted in the nasopharynx may present with initial choking, coughing, bluish colouration and breathlessness, and later with nasal obstruction, nasal discharge and snoring. Sharp foreign bodies can pierce soft tissue and get impacted and removal of such foreign bodies may result in damage to surrounding structure if not carefully done. Perforation of the pharyngeal wall may lead to retropharyngeal abscess formation with all its attendant complication if not adequately and promptly treated. We present a case of an unusual FB (mirror) in an unusual age group -three months old child.