Complications and follow-up of foreign body inhalation

Abstract

Foreign body inhalation (FBI) is a dramatic incident with a number of complications. The aim of this study was to follow-up the patients after removal of the foreign body and to record the related complications. This prospective follow-up study included 59 patients who presented to the Bronchology Unit of Chest Department at Ain Shams University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt, for their follow-up after successful removal of FBI. The follow-up consisted of three sections: clinical, radiological, and/or interventional. Fifty-nine patients were included in the study, with a median age of 3±7.30 years. A total of 39 (66.1%) patients were followed up for 1 month, whereas 20 (33.9%) were followed up for more than 1 month. As regards the radiological follow-up, 37 (62.71%) patients showed complete radiological resolution of previous abnormalities within the duration of less than or equal to 1 month, and 10 (16.95%) patients needed more than 1 month to reach complete resolution; the difference was highly statistically significant (P <0.001). Only 16 patients needed rebronchoscopic evaluation; six patients refused to undergo rebronchoscopic evaluation, whereas seven needed it once, one needed it twice, and two needed it thrice. All patients who needed bronchoscope follow-up once performed within less than 1 month recording highly statistically significant different (P <0.001). The most common complication was bleeding in 37 cases, followed by granulation tissue in 28 and purulent secretion in 24 cases. All patients received systemic steroids at the beginning of the procedure; meanwhile, local injection of steroids through the bronchoscope channel was performed in some selected patients. As regards the use of antibiotics, it was given either locally or systemic empirically until cultures were available. Although follow-up of patients with FBI is not an easy job, it is an essential step to complete the management and ensure no residual complications.