A Case Report of Spontaneous Passage of Bronchial Foreign Body through Gastrointestinal Tract

Foreign body aspiration is most likely to occur in children and in adults aged above 60 years, causing a respiratory emergency, such as airway closure. It is diagnosed based on a history of aspiration, presenting symptoms, and radiographic findings. The treatment may include removal of the foreign body via bronchoscopy or surgery. Here, we report a rare case of bronchial aspiration of a foreign body, confirmed with clinical and radiographic examinations, in a 57-year-old patient. The patient was transferred for treatment; however, spontaneous passage of the foreign body to the gastrointestinal tract led to its removal from the bronchus.

The iron status and the relationship between iron deficiency and body mass index in middle school girls / 소아과

PURPOSE: Obesity and iron deficiency are common nutritional problems. Obese children are known to have iron deficiencies, but one presented opposite opinion in Korea. This study investigated the prevalence of obesity and iron deficiency in Incheon and the relationship between iron deficiency and obesity. METHODS: Physical measurement and hematologic examinations were done a 764 healthy female students aged 14 to 15 years in May, 2005. Overweight was defined as a body mass index > or = 85th percentile. Iron deficiency was defined as serum ferritin <10 ng/mL. Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was defined as serum Hb <12 g/dL and serum ferritin <10 ng/mL and/or transferrin saturation <16%. RESULTS: 1) The prevalence of overweight was 24.4 percent (n=186), and that of obesity 16.5 percent (n=126). Ferritin and transferrin saturation was the lowest in the normal weight group. 2) The prevalence of iron deficiency and IDA was 18.7 percent (n=102) and 5.3 percent (n=41), respectively. 3) Iron deficiency was more common in the normal weight group compared with the overweight and underweight groups. Also, the non-obese had more iron deficiency and IDA than the obese. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of obesity in middle school girls could be higher in Incheon than in other regions, but there might be no difference in iron deficiency. However, iron deficiency was more prevalent in the normal weight group than in overweight group. The overweight group ate more food and gained more iron, so seemed to be less prevalent in iron deficiency than the normal weight group.

A Two-Month-Old Infant with Subglottic Hemangioma / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

Subglottic hemangioma is a rare condition which has the potential to cause life-threatening complications during the pediatric period. The most common presenting symptom is inspiratory and expiratory stridor, which is often exacerbated by crying and upper respiratory tract infection. The natural history of subglottic hemangioma is characterized by progressive airway obstruction during the proliferative phase for the first year, but after 1 year of age, the symptoms resolve spontaneously as the lesion regresses. We report a 50-day-old infant with subglottic hemangioma who suffered from episodes of cyanosis and persistent stridor with viral pneumonia. In addition, she had cutaneous hemangioma on her right cheek. The hemangioma was successfully controlled with just systemic steroids, because the lesion occupied 40% of total subglottic space. We concluded that if an infant with cutaneous hemangioma displays biphasic then stridor subglottic hemangioma should be included in differential diagnosis.