title: Ingested foreign body in young children.
abstract: Locally, ingested foreign body is a problem commonly seen in the adult patients. Paediatric patients constituted about 6.5% of all cases of ingested foreign body. In adults and older children who are able to communicate, the management is usually straight forward. However, the diagnosis of ingested foreign body in a prelingual child may pose a problem as the child is unable to talk. A high index of suspicion is needed in the diagnosis of ingested foreign body. This article presents a case of undiagnosed ingested foreign body causing pharyngeal perforation with retropharyngeal abscess in a two year-old boy. The management of ingested foreign body in young children is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Otolaryngology, Singapore General Hospital.
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Loh
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000209:etiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004939:Esophageal Perforation / Q000209:etiology*; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010608:Pharyngeal Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D010614:Pharynx / Q000293:injuries*