title: Respiratory distress due to esophageal perforation caused by ball point ingestion.
abstract: A 15-month-old girl who developed respiratory distress which persisted for three days prior to admission demonstrated pleural effusion on the chest x-ray which was determined to be due to esophageal perforation caused by the ingestion of a ball point. A gastrotomy was performed to extract the ball point. A gastrostomy was performed and a chest tube was inserted. The esophagus was normal radiologically within one month. Foreign body ingestion may cause esophageal perforation in childhood. If it goes unnoticed and a diagnosis is delayed, there is danger of the more hazardous development of mediastinitis. It is important that a child with respiratory distress also be evaluated for esophageal foreign body ingestion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Türken
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Tanyel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiçsönmez
mesh_terms: D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology*; D004939:Esophageal Perforation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant