Foreign body in children's airways: a five -year study

Foreign body aspiration continues to be a major problem and one of the most important reasons for mortality and morbidity particularly sudden death among children. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the clinical and paraclinical features and also the treatment of children who admitted in this center as the result of foreign body aspiration and underwent bronchoscopy to remove aspirated material. This was a cross sectional study conducted on children under the age of 15 who admitted and registered in NRITLD with the diagnosis of foreign body aspiration and underwent bronchoscopy. Children were analyzed based on their age, gender, primary diagnosis, characteristic of the foreign body, the interval between aspiration and starting treatment, radiological findings, and the severity of airway injuries. Forty-seven children under the age 15 were evaluated in this study in a five-year period between 1998 and 2004. Sixty-three percent of them were boy and 37% were girl. Thirty [63%] children were found to be younger than 3 years old. Moreover in 63% of the cases the primary diagnosis before referring to this center was not foreign body aspiration. Hence, as the result of misdiagnosis and delay, 50% of children had injuries in their airways. The most common aspirated foreign body was organic materials [82%] and the most common radiological finding was hyperinflation in the chest x-ray. This study showed that early diagnosis and treatment of foreign body is a critical factor to prevent further airway complications in children. According to the results of this study ragid bronchoscopy is the most effective procedure for treatment of foreign body aspiration in children

Lung abscess in children: a 12-year study in national research institute of tuberculosis and lung disease

Background: Lung abscess is a rare and jeopardizing disease particularly in children. Early diagnosis of the disease can prevent further complications. Delay in diagnosis not only increases the mortality, but also can lead to severe complications along with the need for surgical intervention. Hence, we decided to evaluate the clinical and para-clinical features of our cases to estimate the magnitude of the problem

Materials and Methods: Data was obtained based on a retrospective study from 1992 to 2004, during a 12-year period in our centre. All the children who were admitted in NRITLD with lung abscess were enrolled in the study. Data was collected and analysed considering their age, gender, underlying disease, and aspiration history

Results: A total of 17 children were identified including 12 boys and 5 girls. 12[70%] children were under 10 years of age. Nine had a history of interstitial lung disease while 12 children had history of aspiration. The most common complaints were cough [94%], fever [82%], and sputum [82%]. Leukocytosis was observed in 76.5% of the cases while 70% showed shift to the left in their blood analysis. 60% of the cases were diagnosed only by CT-scan without any other evaluation. Gram positive organisms [Streptococcus pneumonia 11.6% and Staphylococcus aureus 5.8%] were the most prevalent organisms involved in our cases

Conclusion: According to this study, lung abscess is more prevalent in boys. The most common symptoms are cough, fever, and sputum. Furthermore, we suggest CT scan for diagnosing the disease because of its valuable role in detecting lung abscess in early stages