기도이물: 10년간 101례의 경험

Laryngo-tracheo-bronchial Foreign Bodies: 10-Year Experience of 101 Cases

Aspiration of foreign bodies into the airway is a common problem in spite of efforts to educate the public, and it can be sometimes fatal accidents. We clinically analyzed 101 cases of airway foreign bodies treated in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine for the past 10 years comparing data with the previous articles. There was male predominance in the occurrence rate, being 72% in the male patients. The peak age was 1 to 3 years of age, and 84.2% was below age of 10. The most common symptom after foreign body aspiration was intractable cough, and obstructive emphysema was most commonly found on the initial chest X-rays. Foreign bodies were mainly located at the right main bronchus and left main bronchus was the next. Peanuts were the most common airway foreign bodies. Ventilating bronchoscopy was performed in the 99 cases and foreign bodies were successfully removed in most cases. There was 2 deaths(2%) resulted from hypoxia after bronchoscopy. The fact that complication rates increase with the duration of the foreign bodies in situ is clear. Therefore, prompt bronchoscopy in patients with suspected airway foreign bodies is essential for lower complication rates.