Tracheobronchial foreign bodies: a review of children admitted for bronchoscopy at King Fahd Specialist Hospital, Al Gassim, Saudi Arabia.

This is a review of 147 patients suspected of foreign body (FB) inhalation, admitted to King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Al Gassim, Saudi Arabia from July 1989 to December 1994. Age, sex, foreign body type and site, presenting symptoms and signs, radiological findings, diagnosis and complications are analyzed and discussed. All foreign bodies were removed by rigid bronchoscopy under general anaesthesia. The study highlights the magnitude of the problem in the region and reviews the clinical presentation of patients who have inhaled an FB and recommends bronchoscopy as a means of early diagnosis and management.