ABSTRACT
A retrospective case series was conducted to determine the clinical characteristics and bronchoscopy findings of children with foreign body aspiration in Paediatric Institute, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Ten boys and two girls were included (range 2-177 months; median 26 months old). They commonly presented with cough (12 / 100%) and difficulty in breathing (9 / 75%). All patients had unilateral auscultatory findings and the commonest radiographic findings were unilateral hyperinflation (7 / 58.3%). The majority of foreign bodies removed was organic (8 / 66.6%) and more frequently found in the left bronchial tree (7 / 58.3%). Major complications were pneumonia (11 / 91.6%) and airway oedema (11 / 91.6%). Eight patients had delayed diagnosis due to parents unawareness (6 / 50%) and missed diagnosis (2 / 16.7%)