Laryngo-tracheo-bronchial foreign bodies in children

Inhalation of a foreign body into the respiratory passage can be a serious and sometimes fatal childhood accident. In this paper we analyse the management of 223 children with laryngo-tracheo-bronchial foreign bodies. Children below three years of age were found to be the most vulnerable. The majority of the patients were boys. Over a quarter of the patients did not present with a history of inhalation. Only 52 per cent reported within 24 hours of inhalation. Endoscopic removal was possible in all but nine cases. One hundred and forty eight (66.4 per cent) of the recovered foreign bodies were organic in origin, the majority of them being peanuts. In one hundred and five (47.1 per cent) the objects found their way into the right bronchial tree. There were two deaths. The modalities of diagnosis and management are discussed.