食事用ピックによる小児下咽頭食道異物例

抄録

Cases of foreign body ingestion in children are often encountered by otorhinolaryngologists in clinical practice. We report the case of foreign body in the left hypopharynx in an 19-month-old boy. The foreign body was a food pick, which is often used in “character lunch boxes.” He was suspected as having accidentally ingested the food pick and was urgently transported to our hospital. It was difficult to identify the foreign body on a plain X-ray or CT. Nasopharyngeal endoscopy revealed a white foreign body lodged in the hypopharynx. It was removed by direct laryngoscopy under general anesthesia. For 3 days post-surgery, mild edema was noted in the arytenoid region, which necessitated administration of a steroid by intravenous drip infusion and of epinephrine by inhalation. Parental education is important to prevent accidental ingestion of foreign bodies by children. Special attention should be paid to preventing toddlers and infants from accidentally ingesting items such as food picks that are commonly and repetitively taken to the mouth.