Background

ENT foreign bodies are a common problem in pediatric practice. They account for about 11% of emergency interventions in otolaryngology.

Objectives

The aim of our study was to present the importance of the problem based on clinical records and a literature review.

Material and methods

We retrospectively analyzed patients referred to the pediatric emergency unit that required otolaryngological consultation due to suspected ENT foreign bodies. We gathered information concerning types of foreign bodies, their location, age, symptoms, presence of a caregiver, child’s admittance to the incident, time to intervention, method of removal and possible complications, and then analyzed these with the use of Microsoft Excel.

Results

In a 12-month period, we identified 376 cases: 163 (43.55%) girls and 213 (56.65%) boys, with a median age of 4. The presence of a suspected foreign body was confirmed in 69.41% cases, and 4.62% cases required general anesthesia. The most common location was the nose (68,97%), then external ear canal (33.72%), and throat (15.33%). We identified a subgroup of 11 children diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s disease, and hyperkinetic disorders, where the median age was more than twice as high, and 2 patients required multiple consultations during the analyzed period. In our group, we observed 1 ‘major complication’ – tympanic membrane perforation, and ‘minor complications’ were described in 37 cases.

Conclusions

Young children are especially prone to the problem of foreign bodies in the ear, nose, and throat region. Hopefully, most cases can successfully be treated ambulatorily, but specialist care is crucial, as well as caregivers’ education concerning prevention.