Frequency and Types of Foreign Body Airway in Children

Aim: To determine the frequency and types of airways foreign body in children undergoing bronchoscopy. Study Design: Cross-sectional/descriptive study Place and Duration of Study: Department of ENT, Sheikh Zayed University Medical College Khost Province Afghanistan from 1st January 2018 to 31st March 2021. Methodology: Ninety patients of both genders and aged between 6 months to 15 years were enrolled. Patient's details demographics like age, sex and weight were recorded after taking informed consent from the patient's guardian. Patients with foreign body aspiration presented within weeks of aspiration. Patients were subjected to rigid bronchoscopy under general anaesthesia after doing chest X-ray. Clinical and radiological findings were observed among all cases. Results: Mean age of the patients was 4.52 +/- 6.35 years. Sixty five (72.22%) were males and 25 (27.8%) were females. Mean time interval between foreign body aspiration and admission to hospital was 1.04 +/- 0.9 weeks. The right main bronchus was the most common site 50 (55.55%) followed by left bronchus 35 (38.9%), and trachea found in 5 (5.55%). Most common foreign body retrieved was pine nut (Chilgoza) found in 77 (85.6%) followed by peanut in 5 (5.56%), seeds 4 (4.4%), whistle 2 (2.2%) and stone pieces in 2 (2.2%) cases. Conclusion: Foreign body aspiration in male children is more common, mainly under the age of four years. It has been found during the bronchoscopy that the foreign body was commonly lodged in the right main bronchus. The most common foreign body was pine nut.