An unusual case of impacted esophageal foreign body.

Incidental ingestion of foreign bodies in the pediatric age group is a recognized problem worldwide, however, it is unusual to have a neonate who presents with impacted esophageal foreign body. As such, this case is rare and considered a new form of child neglect.

Screening audiometry in Nigerian school children

Audiometric screening tests done on 292 six-year old primary school children in Benin; shows that 9.2of the children had significant hearing impairment with elevation of hearing thresholds (HTL) above recommended screening levels at all or most of the frequencies tested; a total of 31of all subjects had some threshold elevation although in the majority of cases only one or two frequencies were affected. Otoscopic abnormalities were evident in a higher proportion of children who had hearing impairment than in those with normal hearing. The need for routine audiometric screening of school children is emphasized

Pneumatisation of the maxillary sinus in normal and symptomatic children.

The pattern of pneumatisation and normal width of the maxillary sinus in 191 Nigerian infants and children whose age range was 6 months to 14 years was determined. Fifty-four percent of children with no respiratory tract or sinus infection had an opaque maxillary sinus. A figure of 44.5% was obtained amongst children with suspected bronchopneumonia. Only 41.5% of suspected cases of sinusitis, acute and chronic middle ear disease had opaque sinuses. The highest rate of sinus opacity was seen in children under 2 years who were asymptomatic. The mean maximal width of the normally aerated sinus was 8.74 mm for children under 2 years, 16.5 mm for 3-6 years, 21.5 mm for 7-11 years and 25 mm for children 12 years and above. We conclude that maxillary sinus opacity in our experience is an unreliable index for the diagnosis of sinusitis in children.