Management of ingested foreign bodies: a retrospective review of 5240 patients

• Published in: Journal of laryngology and otology Vol. 115; no. 12; pp. 954 - 957
• Main Authors: Lam, Henry Chuen Kwong, Woo, John Kong Sang, van Hasselt, Charles Andrew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.12.2001
• Subjects: (RF) Otorhinolaryngology; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Clinical Protocols; Complications; Digestive System; Esophagoscopy - adverse effects; Esophagoscopy - methods; Esophagus; Esophagus - diagnostic imaging; Female; Foreign Bodies; Foreign Bodies - diagnostic imaging; Foreign Bodies - therapy; Humans; Infant; Injuries of the abdomen. Foreign bodies of the digestive system; Laryngoscopy - adverse effects; Laryngoscopy - methods; Length of Stay; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Operative; Patient Readmission - statistics & numerical data; Pharynx - diagnostic imaging; Postoperative Complications - etiology; Predictive Value of Tests; Radiography; Retrospective Studies; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery of the digestive system; Surgical Procedures; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents; Treatment Outcome; Digestive System; Foreign Bodies; Operative; Complications; Surgical Procedures; Removal; Human; Stomach; Esophageal disease; Review; Cost benefit analysis; Ingestion; Esophagus; Esophagoscopy; Flexible; Surgery; Digestive diseases; Foreign body; Endoscopy; Diagnosis; Therapeutic protocol; Gastric disease
• ISSN: 0022-2151; 1748-5460
• DOI: 10.1258/0022215011909756

This review was carried out to assess the effectiveness of our protocol designed for the management of ingested foreign bodies. It was a retrospective review of 5240 patients with ingested foreign bodies admitted over a five-year period to the Ear Nose and Throat Unit. These patients were managed according to a standardized protocol which was adopted and modified from our previous study. Under his management protocol, the mean hospital stay was 1.6 days. Flexible oesophagoscopy under local anaesthesia, and rigid oesophagoscopy under general anaesthesia, were performed in 1.5 per cent and 7.7 per cent of cases respectively. Major complications including oesophageal perforation and deep neck abscesses occurred in 0.19 per cent of patients. There was no mortality. This management protocol for ingested foreign bodies was both safe and cost-effective when compared to similar studies reported in the literature.