Abstract
A total of 212 cases of foreign bodies in the esophagus and 25 cases in the tracheobronchial tree were treated at our department during the past 10 years from 1970 to 1979. Male to female ratio was about 1. 2 to 1. Sex difference in incidence was not so remarkable as was indicated in other papers.
About a third of the patients were infants from 0 to 3 years old. Many foreign bodies in the esophagus in adults were fish bones and in children were coins.
The number of cases of foreign bodies of chicken bone and PTP has increased recently.
Most fobeign bodies were located at the first physiological constriction of the esophagus.
Fourteen cases of foreign bodies in the tracheobronchial tree were in infants under 1 year old and most of them were peanuts.
Interestingly, the left bronchus was more frequently involved than the right in the group of children under 1 year old, in other age groups however, the right bronchus was more frequently affected than the left.
Comparison of the data with previous reports are also made.
