Death as a Consequence of Foreign Body Aspiration in Children

AIM: To analyze the rate of mortality in children with foreign body aspiration (FBA). METHODS: We outlined a retrospective review of hospital data of patients between 1971 and 2013. FBA occurring in children 0 year to 14 years was considered for inclusion (patient ages ranged from 0.6 to 15 years, with a median age of 2.2 years). The gender structure within the investigated cases was 75.8% males and 24.2% females. During the study period, 772 patients undergoing rigid bronchoscopy with the diagnosis of FBA were included. Deaths on arrival were excluded. RESULTS: Total rate of mortality (for whole investigated period) was 0.785. For last fifteen years of the investigated period the rate of mortality was zero. CONCLUSION: For prevention of foreign body aspiration in children and its mortality should be taken two strategies: non-medical (alterations in product design and public education campaigns) and medical (education of medical staff and improvement of equipment).