A Statistical Review on Foreign Bodies in the Esophagus in Hospitalized Patients in the Past Ten Years

Abstract

A statistical study was made on foreign bodies in the esophagus in fifty-seven patients hospitalized in our clinic between 1979 and 1988. Twenty-four patients (42%) were under 5 years old, including under two years old. The objects were coins in 16 patients, and dental prostheses in 12. The obstruction was found at the first constriction of esophagus in 34patients. The object was removed by esophagoscopy in 46 patients. Diagnosis could be made by plain X-ray examination in 38 patients.