• Registration
  • Login
JETem
  • Home
  • About
    • Aim and Scope
    • Our Team
    • Editorial Board
    • FAQ
  • Issues
    • Current Issue
    • Ahead of Print
    • Past Issues
  • Visual EM
    • Latest Visual EM
    • Search Visual EM
    • Thumbnail Library
  • For Authors
    • Instructions for Authors
    • Submit to JETem
    • Photo Consent
    • Policies
      • Peer Review Policy
      • Copyright Policy
      • Editorial Policy, Ethics and Responsibilities
      • Conflicts of Interest & Informed Consent
      • Open Access Policy
  • For Reviewers
    • Instructions for JETem Reviewers
    • Interested in Being a JETem Reviewer?
  • Topic
    • Abdominal / Gastroenterology
    • Administration
    • Board Review
    • Cardiology / Vascular
    • Clinical Informatics, Telehealth and Technology
    • Dermatology
    • EMS
    • Endocrine
    • ENT
    • Faculty Development
    • Genitourinary
    • Geriatrics
    • Hematology / Oncology
    • Infectious Disease
    • Miscellaneous
    • Neurology
    • Ob / Gyn
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopedics
    • Pediatrics
    • Procedures
    • Psychiatry
    • Renal / Electrolytes
    • Respiratory
    • Toxicology
    • Trauma
    • Ultrasound
    • Wellness
    • Wilderness
  • Modality
    • Curricula
    • Innovations
    • Lectures
    • Oral Boards
    • Podcasts
    • Simulation
    • Small Group Learning
    • Team Based Learning
    • Visual EM
  • Contact Us

Pediatric Foreign Body Aspiration

Sha Yan, DO* and Uchechi Azubuine, MD^

*Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Emergency Medicine, New Brunswick, NJ

^Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, New Brunswick, NJ

Correspondence should be addressed to Sha Yan, DO at sy449@rwjms.rutgers.edu

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21980/J8B648Issue 3:3
PediatricsRespiratoryVisual EM
No ratings yet.

History of present illness:

A 10-month-old male presented after choking on a carrot. Mom reported coughing with perioral cyanosis. On examination, the child had no retractions, but wheezing was heard in the right lung fields particularly when coughing.

Significant findings:

Chest radiograph showed increased radiolucency (red arrow) and flattening of the diaphragm on the right side (blue arrow) consistent with hyperinflation of the right lung, as well as left mediastinal shift (green arrow), indicating obstruction.

Discussion:

Foreign body aspiration is a common condition in pediatrics and can be life- threatening.  It happens most commonly in children younger than 2 years due to a natural curiosity for putting objects in their mouth and an immature swallowing mechanism.1  Most foreign bodies are located in the right main bronchus due to its wider diameter and more direct extension of the trachea.2  Witnessed choking has the highest sensitivity and specificity for this pathology (sensitivity 75.4% and specificity 92.1%).3 These children will often present with coughing, wheezing, and/or decreased lung sounds that suggest an aspiration.4

Chest radiographs are excellent in detecting radiopaque objects. However, most aspirations are from radiolucent organic matters such as nuts or seeds.3 Radiographs that show focal area of hyperinflation, mediastinal shift, and atelectasis are highly specific for aspiration. Pathological findings on chest radiography showed an 86.1% sensitivity and 63.2% specificity.3 However, it is possible that these finding may not be seen on initial imaging.

It is important to keep a high index of suspicion as undiagnosed foreign body aspiration can lead to chronic pulmonary infections, bronchiectasis, pneumothorax, asphyxia, and death.3 This child had both physical and radiographic findings of a foreign body aspiration in addition to a witnessed choking episode. He was taken to the operation room by the pediatric surgery team for bronchoscopy and a piece of carrot was removed from the right mainstem bronchus.

Topics:

Foreign body aspiration, pediatric foreign body, pediatric pulmonology, respiratory.

References:

  1. Shlizerman L, Mazzawi S, Rakover Y, Ashkenazi D. Foreign body aspiration in children: the effects of delayed diagnosis. Am J Otolaryngol. 2010;31(5):320-324. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2009.03.007
  2. Cevik M, Gokdemir MT, Boleken ME, Sogut O, Kurkcuoglu C. The characteristics and outcomes of foreign body ingestion and aspiration in children due to lodged foreign body in the aerodigestive tract. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2013;29(1):53-57. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0b013e31827b5374
  3. Heyer CM, Bollmeier ME, Rossler L, et al. Evaluation of clinical, radiologic, and laboratory prebronchoscopy findings in children with suspected foreign body aspiration. J Pediatr Surg.  2006;41(11):1882-1888. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2013.03.050
  4. Mortellaro VE, Iqbal C, Fu R, Curtis H, Fike FB, St Peter SD. Predictors of radiolucent foreign body aspiration. JPediatr Surg.  2013;48(9):1867-1870. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2013.03.050
Icon

Pediatric Foreign Body - Case Report

1 file(s) 432 KB
Download
Icon

Pediatric Foreign Body - Images

1 file(s) 549 KB
Download
Issue 3:3X-Ray

Reviews:

No ratings yet.

Please rate this





Achalasia: An Uncommon Presentation with Classic...

14 Jul, 18

Button Battery in Esophagus

14 Jul, 18
JETem is an online, open access, peer-reviewed journal-repository for EM educators

Most Viewed

  • Telemedicine Consult for Shortness of Breath Due to Sympathetic Crashing Acute Pulmonary Edema
  • Anticholinergic Toxicity in the Emergency Department
  • The Suicidal Patient in the Emergency Department Team-Based Learning Activity
  • Child Maltreatment Education: Utilizing an Escape Room Activity to Engage Learners on a Sensitive Topic
  • Acute Chest Syndrome

Visit Our Collaborators

About

Education

Learners should benefit from active learning. JETem accepts submissions of team-based learning, small group learning, simulation, podcasts, lectures, innovations, curricula, question sets, and visualEM.

Scholarship

We believe educators should advance through the scholarship of their educational work. JETem gives educators the opportunity to publish scholarly academic work so that it may be widely distributed, thereby increasing the significance of their results.

Links

  • Home
  • Aim and Scope
  • Current Issue
  • For Reviewers
  • Instructions for Authors
  • Contact Us

Newsletter

Sign up to receive updates from JETem regarding newly published issues and findings.

Copyright © 2016 JETem. All rights reserved.