Fırat University Hospital Department of Pediatric Surgery Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tugay Tartar stated that the condition in which any substance placed in the mouth gets into the trachea (foreign body aspiration) is more common in children aged 1-3 years. Tartar emphasized that families and babysitters should be educated on this issue in order to avoid foreign body aspiration.
Fırat University Hospital Department of Pediatric Surgery Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tugay Tartar gave information about foreign body aspiration.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tugay Tartar stated that foreign body aspiration is a condition in which any substance placed in the mouth gets into the trachea, which is common all over the world, requires urgent intervention and can cause death if delayed. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tartar emphasized that it is more common especially in children between the ages of 1-3 years due to the fact that children have not been trained to eat, their molars are not yet complete, children at a young age take every object they hold in their hands to their mouths and laugh, cry and run with any object in their mouths. Stating that food and fruit seeds such as seeds, hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts, beans, chickpeas are the most common objects that escape into the trachea, small toy parts, pencil tip, safety pin and especially in young people wearing a turban, a pin is among the objects that escape into the trachea due to talking and laughing while the pin is in the mouth during tying the turban. Prof. Dr. Tugay Tartar stated that sudden cessation of breathing, bruising, coughing and wheezing are among the most common findings in foreign name aspiration. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tartar emphasized that if there is no one with the child at the time when the foreign body escapes into the trachea or if the sudden findings seen in the child have improved in a short time, in short, if the family has not noticed, the foreign body may remain in the trachea of children for months and therefore parents may frequently consult a doctor with complaints such as asthma, recurrent pneumonia, persistent cough, phlegm and shortness of breath.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tugay Tartar underlined that when foreign body aspiration is encountered, it should not be unconsciously tried to remove the foreign body in the child's throat with a finger, this approach may cause the foreign body to go further and cause complete obstruction of the airway and the child to experience life-threatening, and in such a situation, it is important to perform appropriate maneuvers by people who have received basic life support and to transport the child to the hospital as soon as possible. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tartar stated that the diagnosis can be made with the symptoms expressed in the patient, physical examination and chest radiography, but in almost half of these patients, the chest radiograph may be normal, and in such a situation, the procedure called bronchoscopy, which allows the airways to be examined with a light camera system advanced in the patient's trachea under general anesthesia, can be used for diagnosis and treatment. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tartar underlined that a rapid improvement in symptoms can be achieved by removing the foreign body in the airways in the early period, but if the foreign body remains in the airways for a long time, it can cause irreversible damage to the lung.
“The most important treatment method in foreign body aspiration is prevention”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tartar said that in order to avoid foreign name aspiration, families and babysitters should be educated on this issue, especially in children under 3 years of age, foods such as grapes and carrots that can easily escape into the trachea should be properly prepared and given, and children should not be disturbed during eating so that they can chew and swallow properly, He also emphasized that nutrients such as hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts and chickpeas should not be given to children younger than 4-5 years of age, toys suitable for the age of children should be selected and it is especially important not to give toys with small parts to children younger than 3 years of age.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tugay Tartar stated that bronchoscopy has been performed on children for about 20 years in the Pediatric Surgery Clinic of Fırat University Hospital, and that patients from the surrounding provinces such as Bingöl, Tunceli and Muş were referred to the clinic due to foreign body aspiration, and added that bronchoscopy procedures have been performed on more than 500 patients in total so far, and that it is important to manage Anesthesia and Pediatric Surgery teams and technical infrastructure in harmony in bronchoscopy procedures.
İHA Haber Kodu: 20241105AW323094