Comparison of pediatric airway foreign bodies over fifty years.

Prevention and early recognition remain critical factors in the treatment of foreign body inhalation in children. Accidental inhalation of both organic and nonorganic foreign body material continues to be a cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. The University of North Carolina Department of Otolaryngology has collected foreign bodies acquired from the airways of young children since its inception in 1954. The authors reviewed 26 foreign bodies removed bronchoscopically from the airways of children during the years 1955 to 1960, and compared these to 27 foreign bodies collected from 1999 to 2003. Findings showed remarkable similarities in the types of foreign bodies aspirated. Organic foreign bodies were most commonly found. Differences existed in the type of organic foreign body aspirated, with popcorn being retrieved in 15% of cases during the later time period. Also, an increase in bronchoscopically removed small toy parts was found in the later group.