Jianqiang Shen1,2,3, Lizhen Huang1, Chuangli Hao1. 1. Department of Pulmonology, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China. 2. Department of, Internal Medicine, Children's Hospital of Wujiang District, Suzhou, China. 3. Department of, Pediatrics, The Ninth People's Hospital of Suzhou, Suzhou, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tracheobronchial foreign body (TFB) aspiration is a significant cause of respiratory problems in children. The timely diagnosis of TFB is important to decrease the mortality rate and the incidence of complications. Advances in radiology have led multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) to become the best technique for diagnosing TFB. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study over 5 years from July 2008 to June 2013. We collected information on children who were diagnosed with a TFB by bronchoscopy, and analyzed age, sex, location, type of foreign body, and various MSCT manifestations. RESULTS: A total of 382 children were included and 68.6% of them were aged 1 to <2 years. The majority (95.8%) of aspirated foreign bodies were vegetation items, and nearly half (47.6%) of them were peanut kernels, followed by sunflower seeds (26.2%). A total of 4.7% of TFBs were in the trachea, 51.0% were in the left main bronchus, and 44.2% were in the right main bronchus. Among the TFBs, 359 (95.5%) showed a high-density shadow in the tracheal / bronchial lumen using MSCT, which could establish the presence of a foreign body directly. Emphysema, localized obstruction and pneumonia were more commonly detected in the 7-21 days and ≥21 days group compared with those in the <7 days group (all P < 0.01). Bronchiectasis was found in two children who were diagnosed at least 21 days after aspiration. CONCLUSIONS: Multi-slice spiral computed tomography is very sensitive to TFBs. Timely diagnosis and treatment of TFB is important to prevent long-term sequelae in children.
BACKGROUND: Tracheobronchial foreign body (TFB) aspiration is a significant cause of respiratory problems in children. The timely diagnosis of TFB is important to decrease the mortality rate and the incidence of complications. Advances in radiology have led multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) to become the best technique for diagnosing TFB. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study over 5 years from July 2008 to June 2013. We collected information on children who were diagnosed with a TFB by bronchoscopy, and analyzed age, sex, location, type of foreign body, and various MSCT manifestations. RESULTS: A total of 382 children were included and 68.6% of them were aged 1 to <2 years. The majority (95.8%) of aspirated foreign bodies were vegetation items, and nearly half (47.6%) of them were peanut kernels, followed by sunflower seeds (26.2%). A total of 4.7% of TFBs were in the trachea, 51.0% were in the left main bronchus, and 44.2% were in the right main bronchus. Among the TFBs, 359 (95.5%) showed a high-density shadow in the tracheal / bronchial lumen using MSCT, which could establish the presence of a foreign body directly. Emphysema, localized obstruction and pneumonia were more commonly detected in the 7-21 days and ≥21 days group compared with those in the <7 days group (all P < 0.01). Bronchiectasis was found in two children who were diagnosed at least 21 days after aspiration. CONCLUSIONS: Multi-slice spiral computed tomography is very sensitive to TFBs. Timely diagnosis and treatment of TFB is important to prevent long-term sequelae in children.