2010 Volume 14 Issue 2 Pages 123-133
[Purpose] In recent years, studies have been performed to clarify the swallowing function and causes of eating/swallowing disorders. However, care and clinical practice still involve risks of accidental ingestion/aspiration. We considered that a survey of the status of ingestion/aspiration accidents in a certain area and their detailed evaluation may contribute to prevent cases of suffocation. Therefore, a 3-year questionnaire survey from 2004 to 2007 was performed involving fire department headquarters in the Hanshin region. Accidental swallowing/aspiration cases were extracted from cases of emergency transportation requests, and their contents were evaluated.
[Methods] In the Hanshin district as a bedroom suburb of the metropolitan area, accidental ingestion/ aspiration cases were extracted from cases of emergency transportation requests to fire fighting bureaus/headquarters of each city between 2004 and 2006 and analyzed. The contents of the questionnaire consisted of: (1) the gender, (2) age, (3) severity, (4) time of the incident, and (5) an outline of the incident. Based on collected data, the cases were first classified into accidental ingestion, aspiration, and other cases. This survey was performed in February 2007.
[Results] The mean number of ambulance requests/year was 261.7: accidental ingestion was observed in 15.8%, aspiration in 75.5%, and others in 8.7%. The percentage of aspiration cases significantly differed between males and females. Concerning the age, accidental ingestion was frequently observed in the young group, and aspiration was frequently observed in the group aged ≥ 75 years. The severity of the condition was most frequently mild in both accidental ingestion and aspiration cases. However, the percentages of severe cases and deaths were high in aspiration cases. The most frequent time of the incident was 20:00–21:00 at night in accidental ingestion cases and 12:00–1:00 in the afternoon in aspiration cases. The most frequent substance of accidental ingestion was medical drugs and that of accidental aspiration was bread.
[Discussion] Eating after understanding the food form and food characteristics is an effective method to prevent suffocation. For people living with family members, educational activities such as instruction on what to do in an emergency and methods to relieve suffocation to family members are important.
