Foreign body in the throat: Any trend change?

Abstract

Background: Throat foreign bodies are surgical emergencies in both children and adults all over the world. Some patients may present with no obvious symptoms and for those that have symptoms, their symptoms may suggest which passage is involved. Children below the age of 10years are more affected than adults. Smooth objects like coins and seeds may pass through the gastrointestinal tract with little or no problem in about 30% of cases and so, such patients should be placed under close observation in the wards. Aims/Objectives: To determine the types, site of impaction and method of removal of such foreign bodies among patients seen in our health facility. Methodology: This is a 3-year retrospective study conducted at the ENT Unit of the Department of Surgery Federal Medical Centre Lokoja, North Central Nigeria. From the hospital Medical Records, a total of 82 patients were managed for foreign body in the throat. However, folders for seven patients could not be traced, five folders had incomplete information in them, and the remaining 70 folders were included in the study. Data about their age, sex, presentation, duration, type, site of impaction, method of removal were extracted, studied and analysed. Results were presented in text, figure and table format. Results: A total of 70 patients were studied, 36 (51.4%) were males and 34 (48.6%) were females. The male to female ratio was 1.06:1, mean age was 17.14years ± 8.36 standard deviation and the most frequent age group involved was of 21-30 years with 26 (37.1 %) patients. Commonest site of impaction was the oropharynx (74.3%) followed by the upper oesophagus (11.4%). The most common foreign body was fishbone (57.2%) followed by denture (8.6%).