Level of Parental Awareness Regarding Aerodigestive Pediatric Foreign Bodies, Western Region, Saudi Arabia

Background: Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a life-threatening condition with a high mortality rate, especially in children less than three years of age. Delayed diagnosis is often due to the non-specific presentation of symptoms and the absence of a witness to the aspiration event. Aim: This study aimed to assess parental knowledge and practices toward aerodigestive paediatric foreign bodies ingestion or inhalation, in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among Saudi parents in western region, Saudi Arabia during the period between 1st To 20th August. A pre-structured validated self-administered questionnaire containing 11 questions of awareness and 4 questions of practices toward aerodigestive pediatric foreign bodies, was distributed online via various Social Media platforms. The questionnaire was initiated after literature review for similar articles and after experts' consultation for validity and reliability. Results: A total of 611 child caregivers completed the study questionnaire. Exactly 508 (83.1%) respondents were children's mothers and 103 (16.9%) were their fathers. Exactly 93.1% of the study parents heard of swallowing or inhaling foreign objects and 77.3% reported that children aged 1-5 years are more likely to swallow or inhale foreign objects while 20.5% reported for children aged less than 1 year. About 69% of the parents buy children toys that contain small parts but to different degrees. As for protective actions, keeping small items out of children's reach was reported by 95.4% of the parents. Conclusion: In conclusion, the study revealed that parental knowledge and practices toward FBA were on average (but not satisfactory) especially for the correct actions for swallowed objects and timely visits to ER even for asymptomatic ingested FB. On the other hand, safe practice, especially keeping small objects out of children's reach, was high, but observing young aged children while playing was unsatisfactory.