• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
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• 1978.06a
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• pp.4.1-4
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• 1978

The foreign bodies in the food and air passages are frequently observed in the field of otolaryngology, and the foreign bodies in the air passages have much significance in clinical practice because they may cause sudden death. A statistical study was done on 95 cases of foreign bodies in the food and air passages who had visited department of otolaryngology, Chung-Ang university from June, 1968 to April, 1978. The results were as follows; 1. The total cases of foreign bodies in the food and air passages was 95; 89 cases (93.7%) were in the food passage and the remaining (6.3%) were in the air passage. The ratio between the food passage and air passage was about 14. 8 to 1.0. 2. In distribution by sex, 64 cases (67.4%) were in male patients and the remaining 31 cases (32.6%) were in female patients. The ratio between male and female was 2.1 to 1.0. 3. The kinds of foreign bodies in the food in the order of their frequency, were coin, gogame stone and pebble. In the air passages, the peanut and bean were most frequently found. 4. In distribution by age, 64 cases (67.4%) of all foreign bodies were found in children under 5 year old, and coin was the most common kind of foreign body. Except for meat, almost all of foreign bodies were found in children under 10 year old. 5. There was chronologically no significant tendency in incidence; the incidence, however, had decreased during recent 2 years. 6. In the location of foreign bodies in the food passage, 70 cases (78.7%) were found at the first esophageal narrowing. Meat was more frequently found at second esophageal narrowing associated with cicatrical stenosis. Almost all of foreign bodies in the air passage was found in bronchi; 3 cases were in the right side of bronchi, and 2 cases were in the left side of bronchi and 1 case was in glottic region. 7. In duration of lodgement, 50 cases (52.6%) visited our hospital within 24 hours, and 3 cases after 30 days. 8. Under topical anesthesia, 83 cases (93.3%) of the foreign bodies in the food passage were removed by esophagoscopy, by 6 cases (6.7%) failed to be removed. All of the foreign bodies of the air passages (6 cases) were removed by bronchoscopy. Among them, 5 cases under 5 years old were removed by inferior bronchoscopy through tracheostomy site.