[Flexible bronchoscopy in the diagnosis of foreign body aspiration]

Foreign body aspiration (FBA) should be suspected in every child with acute onset of cough or wheezing. Although a choking episode occurs in 80-90% of cases of FBA, it is not necessarily diagnostic. Furthermore, in many cases neither physical examination nor chest x-ray, including fluoroscopy, are diagnostic; their results may be completely normal in up to 17-25% of cases of FBA. Bronchoscopy is therefore mandatory when there is a convincing history of FBA, regardless of physical or radiologic findings. This can be done with either the flexible or rigid bronchoscope, or with both.