ENT foreign bodies: profile of the cases seen at a tertiary hospital emergency care unit

Individuals often seek help with foreign bodies (FB) in their ears, noses, and throats. Proper recognition, study, and management of foreign bodies is required to prevent complications. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the profile of the patients seen for FB at a reference otorhinolaryngology emergency care unit between February of 2010 and January of 2011. METHOD: Cross-sectional retrospective historical cohort study based on digitized patient charts. RESULTS: FB accounted for 827 cases and 5.3% of all patients seen in the ENT emergency unit. Children were affected more frequently, particularly when aged 8 and under. No statistically significant differences were seen between genders. Foreign bodies were mostly located in the ears (64.4%), followed by the nasal fossae (19.5%), and the oropharynx (8.9%). Complications were seen in 4.5% of the cases, and 4.4% required general anesthesia to have the FB removed. CONCLUSION: In our ENT practice, foreign bodies were more commonly seen in children; the ears were the preferential site of occurrence. Complication rates and use of general anesthesia were low in our practice. It should be stressed that ENT foreign bodies need to be properly managed so as to avoid complications.