title: Aspirated safety pin requiring thoracotomy: report of a case and review.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Causey
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Talton
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Warren
mesh_terms: 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