Foreign bodies in the lower respiratory tract

Abstract

Introduction: Foreign bodies in the lower respiratory tract in children are one of the most serious emergencies in otorhinolaryngological and pediatric practice, can lead sometimes to death. Material and methods: In our study, we follow the possible risks and complications in 679 children aged 0 to 3 years with a foreign body in the lower respiratory tract treated in the ENT Clinic at the University Hospital Queen Joanna-ISUL Sofia and the Children's Clinic of the University Hospital Aleksandrovska Sofia. The authors use data from national statistics on the number of deaths of children with a foreign body in the lower airways to compare results. Results: During the following period of 20 years treatment in 667 children is successfully completed, while 59 children have applied more than one endoscopic procedure. In 12 children continued treatment at the Clinic Thoracic Surgery due to the inability of endscopy extraction of foreign bodies from the lower respiratory tract. Conclusion: Anatomical features of the respiratory system of young children make foreign bodies in the lower respiratory tract especially dangerous. This requires attention, experience in the diagnosis and better collaboration between pediatricians, specialist bronchoscopy (ENT or pulmonologist), anesthesiologists experienced in working with children and thoracic surgeon to avoid complications and death.