Esophageal foreign body presenting with stridor: report of one case.

We report a case of a 12-month-old infant who developed acute respiratory distress with stridor from an impacted proximal esophageal foreign body. She was treated inappropriately as upper respiratory infections prior to the validation of the presenting complaint. Difficulties in diagnosis of esophageal foreign bodies arise, when the patient presents with atypical symptoms. Clinical suspicion remains the most important aid to diagnosis and endoscopic examination is essential for the diagnosis and successful management of foreign bodies in the esophagus.