Abstract
Purpose: Foreign-body aspiration (FBA) is a condition with diverse clinical presentations in children. Diagnosis of FBA may be delayed in patients without a positive history of aspiration or typical manifestations. Chest X-ray (CXR) alone is not sufficiently sensitive to detect abnormalities associated with FBA. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) in children with suspected FBA.
Methods: The medical records from the past 7 years of children with suspected FBA at our institution were reviewed retrospectively.
Results: The records of 12 patients aged from 1.5 to 10.4 years (median 3.5 years) with suspected FBA were examined. CXR was performed in all 12 patients and CT in 10 patients. Rigid bronchoscopy was performed in 10 patients, which revealed tracheobronchial foreign bodies in 7 patients (peanuts in 5 patients, and a small stone and a plastic tube in 1 patient each), aspiration pneumonia caused by FBA in 2 patients, and normal findings in 1 patient. FBA suspected in 2 atypical patients was refuted by imaging examinations (CXR and CT) and careful observation at our hospital. Both CXR and CT were performed in the 7 FBA patients preoperatively. CXR showed radiopaque foreign bodies in 1 patient and indirect signs in 2 patients (emphysema and atelectasis), whereas CT clearly demonstrated foreign bodies with concomitant lung abnormalities in 6 patients.
Conclusions: Although bronchoscopy is essential in children with suspected FBA, CT is very useful for rapidly obtaining reliable information.
