Emergency endoscopic management of dietary foreign bodies in the esophagus.
OBJECTIVE
We report our experience of endoscopy in the emergency management of dietary foreign bodies.


METHODS
One hundred thirty-six patients were admitted to the emergency department (ED) between January 1997 and October 2006 for the endoscopic removal of esophageal dietary foreign bodies. They had a mean age of 47.7 years, and 91 (67%) were women.


RESULTS
Most of the ingested materials (98.5%) were successfully extracted using either flexible or rigid endoscope. The objects most frequently ingested were fish bones (48%) and chicken bones (46%). Most of the objects (84%) were lodged in the upper esophagus. Two patients with irretrievable foreign bodies or complicated perforations were taken to surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
Because most of these foreign bodies lodged in the upper esophagus, physicians should take care of this area to avoid secondary injury or complications, especially with sharp bones.
Lin
Hsuan-Hwai
HH
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Lee
Shih-Chun
SC
Chu
Heng-Cheng
HC
Chang
Wei-Kuo
WK
Chao
You-Chen
YC
Hsieh
Tsai-Yuan
TY
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones; D002645:Chickens; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000379:methods; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D004947:Esophagus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005502:Food / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies