Corps étrangers laryngés: prise en charge chez l'enfant au Sénégal

Abstract

Inhalation of foreign bodies is a frequent accident in children. It remains severe in the case of laryngeal foreign bodies.Retrospectively, for a 16-year period, 65 laryngeal foreign bodies have been treated (44.8%), among 145 cases of airway foreign bodies, in the ENT department of Dakar University hospital. Etiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects were reviewed.Average age was 36 months, with a sex-ratio of 2.42 in favour of males. The time lag (time between the accident and admission to the department) was particularly long; 73.33% of the children were admitted more than 24 hours after the event. Eighty-three percent of the patients presented greater or lesser laryngeal dyspnea. Tracheostomy was performed in 55.4% of the patients. Average duration for abiation of the canula was ten days. Three cases of death were recorded (4.16%).The frequency of 44.8% for laryngeal localization of foreign bodies appears to be the highest in the literature. If the appropriate treatment for foreign bodies in the respiratory tract is endoscopic removal, the tracheostomy nevertheless occupies a central place in the management of the disease. This procedure may be recommended to all ENT specialists working in similar conditions. In spite of its inherent complications, tracheostomy allows reduction of mortality in relation to laryngeal foreign bodies. Improvement of prognosis requires prevention based on widespread public information and improving technical infrastructures.