Asphyxia due to pacifiers--case report and review of the literature.
Pacifiers and bottle nipples entail the risk of asphyxia when they are swallowed, self-made or have become porous, or when used by older children whose teeth and chewing musculature have developed beyond the suckling stage. A further danger lies in the various devices used to tie the pacifier to the child, as they can cause strangulation. On the basis of this first case of a 2-year-old biting off a piece of her pacifier and fatally aspirating it, we point to the dangers and security requirements related to pacifiers and bottle nipples, and give a review of the related literature.
Wehner
Frank
F
Institut für Gerichtliche Medizin der Universität Tübingen, Nägelestrasse 5, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany. frank.wehner@uni-tuebingen.de
Martin
David D
DD
Wehner
Heinz-Dieter
HD
D000367:Age Factors; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D041361:Pacifiers / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous