Aspirated safety pin requiring thoracotomy: report of a case and review.
Foreign body aspirations in children are relatively uncommon occurrences, but they can be a serious events, causing respiratory distress, atelectasis, chronic pulmonary infections, or death. Safety pins are not commonly aspirated objects and account for less than 3% of all foreign bodies found in the tracheobronchial tree. Fewer than 2% of patients require thoracotomy, and most aspirated materials can be removed by bronchoscopy, with low morbidity and mortality. A discussion of airway foreign bodies follows the presentation of a case of an older child who aspirated a safety pin, which required open thoracostomy for removal.
Causey
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AL
Department of Pediatrics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA.
Talton
D S
DS
Miller
R C
RC
Warren
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ET
D001980:Bronchi; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D001239:Inhalation; D008297:Male; D013908:Thoracotomy