Aspiración de cuerpo extraño durante la consulta dental en pediatría. Reporte de un caso

Abstract

Within the scope of pediatric medical practice, certain situations arise where timely diagnosis of a condition implies facing unforeseen situations. Clinical history is clearly paramount for the correct and precise handling of any patient, even more so for very young patients from whom obtained data can be frequently imprecise. With respect to foreign body aspiration accidents, there are specific indicators which substantiate a suspicion of that case. Nevertheless, not all cases are typical, therefore, experience of the clinical operator is essential. This study presents the case of a one year and nine months old patient who broncho-aspirated a chrome-steel crown in a dental practice, and the situation was only diagnosed 60 days later. The present diagnosis was emitted at once when the patient arrived at the National Pediatrics Institute. To that aim, a thorax x-ray was taken. The present case can be considered a paradigm. It supports the idea that the oral cavity of very young patients must be treated by qualified specialists, and that such care must be given in centers which can guarantee the patient’s safety. A foreign body can remain in the bronchii for a long time, without directly endangering the patient’s life. Nevertheless, this situation would introduce the patient into a dangerous chronicity, therefore, emergency room physicians should be aware of the possibility of a substantiated suspicion of foreign body aspiration. These cases, after suitable history research and auscultation could have been avoided, and thus avoid a serious chronic situation in these patients.