Value of chest CT in the diagnosis and management of tracheobronchial foreign bodies.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the present study was to investigate the value of chest multidetector computed tomography (CT) in the evaluation of children with suspected foreign body aspiration.


METHODS
Chest CT was performed in 45 consecutive children with suspected foreign body aspiration, and plain chest X-ray was conducted at the same time. Multiplanar reformatted imaging was carried out after multidetector CT. Rigid bronchoscopy and removal of the foreign body was performed under general anesthesia.


RESULTS
All 42 patients (100%) with tracheobronchial foreign bodies were identified on chest CT. Three patients avoided unnecessary operations due to negative CT scans. For the patients with tracheobronchial foreign bodies, the occurrence of unilateral hyperlucent lung and post-obstructive lobar or segmental infiltrates on plain chest X-ray was 42.9% (18/42) and 4.8% (2/42), respectively. Twenty-two of the 42 patients (52.4%) had no abnormalities on plain X-ray. The difference between multidetector CT and plain X-ray results was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Surgical plans were designed and appropriate foreign body forceps were selected based on the CT scans. All foreign bodies were removed successfully, and no severe complications were observed. The location, shape, and volume of the foreign bodies found at surgery were consistent with the CT images.


CONCLUSIONS
The diagnosis of foreign body aspiration of the airway in children can be accomplished by using chest multidetector CT. It is often useful in delineating the exact shape, location, volume and form of a bronchial foreign body and can help the surgeon plan for operative bronchoscopy and safe removal of the foreign body.
Department of Otolaryngology, Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China. bweiliang@yahoo.com.cn
Weiliang
W
Bai
Xinjia
X
Zhou
Xin
X
Gao
Chunbo
C
Shao
Joseph A
JA
Califano
Patrick K
PK
Ha
D001980:Bronchi; D001995:Bronchography; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D014132:Trachea / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*