Learn about some foreign bodies extracted from the respiratory tract of 20 children in Mafraq Hospital

Al Mafraq Hospital, which is affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), has performed about 20 endoscopic operations on children to extract foreign bodies stuck in their airways during the past two years, according to what the hospital’s acting medical director and consultant of pediatrics and respiratory diseases, Dr. Anwar Salam, said.

 Dr. Salam said that among the materials that were extracted were love peels, and some small toys, as a result of swallowing them while the child was playing or lying down with his mouth.

Dr. Salam called on parents and those who care for children, whether in homes, schools or kindergartens, to monitor children and pay attention to the aforementioned symptoms of suffocation, and to avoid giving a child under three years of age toys with small parts or detachable pens, and to ensure that they are placed out of the child’s reach.

Salam called on parents to take into account the symptoms of the presence of a foreign body in the child's lung to expedite the endoscopy and save the child before his condition worsens, as it was found that many of these cases are mistreated and treated through wrong diagnosis.

He stressed that "the arrival of the foreign body into the lung leads to a person suffering from chronic cough and frequent lung infections as a result of the wrong diagnosis, so the doctor who examines the patient must take into account the possibility of the presence of a foreign body in the airway and verify the imaging results even if it is necessary to seek advice." Another doctor to make sure that the airways and lungs are clear,” adding that “prescribing asthma medications does not help, as there are many cases that arrive at Mafraq Hospital that were previously treated with asthma medications, while the child does not suffer from asthma and his condition does not improve after using these treatments.” ".

He pointed out that suffocation by foreign objects is one of the emergency situations that may lead to the death of a person or expose him to mental disability or illness in many cases.

Children are more at risk of suffocation because they have a habit of putting all things in their mouths, and common foreign objects that cause children to choke are foods, especially seeds and grains, nuts, candy, candies, vegetables, and fruits, as well as toys with small parts, and detachable pens.

And about the symptoms that may appear on the child, Dr. Anwar Salam explained that the symptoms are similar in the case of a foreign body in the airway to the symptoms of asthma, which may be interpreted by the parents that the child has asthma and the correct treatment is neglected, as the child may not show symptoms of suffocation, but the child may After a period of time, he suffers from coughing, especially that begins suddenly, fever, difficulty breathing, chest pain, and in severe cases, the child develops cyanosis and fainting, wheezing in the chest or on one side of the chest, and recurrent pneumonia, which are similar symptoms that accompany asthma.

Pen cap in the lung of a 6-year-old girl

Dr. Salam said that the hospital received a 6-year-old girl, who had been suffering from a chronic cough for more than a year, and when she visited more than one doctor and conducted medical examinations for her in more than one hospital, she was diagnosed on the basis of her asthma,

She is given medication for this, in addition to her continuous use of antibiotics, but to no avail, noting that upon her arrival at the clinic, she decided to perform an endoscopy for her, after conducting the necessary tests to ascertain the reason for not responding to previous treatments. Later it was a ballpoint pen tip cap.

Salam stressed the importance of taking into account the situation in the event that the child is “suffocated” by taking him to the nearest accident department so that the pediatrician can examine him, and the parents should draw the doctor’s attention to the fact that the child has “choked”, in order to photograph the respiratory system and make sure that there are no foreign bodies It must be extracted endoscopically, and if a foreign body is confirmed or suspected of entering the lung, a child’s pulmonary endoscopy must be performed by a doctor specialized in this field.

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