Aspiration of pins : A hazard of tradition in Oman.

Forty-six patients were admitted over a 3-year period after having inhaled a pin; 43 were females in the age range 8-17 years. Most of the patients had only minimal symptoms; only 2 presented with respiratory infections. Aspiration into the left bronchial tree occurred in 22 patients and into the right in 15. Extraction by means of rigid bronchoscopy was succesful in 40 patients (87%) while 6 (13%) required a thoracotomy.