TY - JOUR T1 - Foreign body aspiration in Tunisian children: Clinical, radiological and endoscopic features and outcome JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 40 IS - Suppl 56 SP - P3340 AU - Anissa Berraies AU - Jamel Ammar AU - Hanadi Abid AU - Essaied Wafa AU - Adel Marghli AU - Taher Mestiri AU - Agnès Hamzaoui Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P3340.abstract N2 - Foreign body aspiration is a frequent accident among children under 3 years. Delay in diagnosis may lead to serious complications. The aim of this study is to describe the experience of a pediatric respiratory department in managing foreign body aspiration and to identify predictive factors of complications.In 10 years (from 2002 to 2011) we performed 101 flexible bronchoscopies for suspicion of foreign body aspiration. A FB inhalation was confirmed in 75 children with a mean age of 32 months and a sex ratio of 1.8. The FB was visualized in 64 cases and in three cases the the FB was'nt seen in first-line rigid bronchoscopy. Twenty three percent of children consult after 1 month. The common clinical manifestations of FB aspiration were persistent cough (66%) and history of choking (81%). The FB is in the right bronchial tree in 49.33% of cases and an inflammatory polyp was seen in 28 children. The most common FB was seeds and nuts: sunflower seeds in 12 cases and almonds in 5. Six children inhaled a scarf pin all of them in the last two years because of the change of clothing habits in our society. Fourteen Children developed bronchiectasis and 6 of them required resection. The organic nature of the FB is associated with this complication (p=0.01). In the group of children who developed complications, the time to diagnosis was longer 78 vs 43 days (NS). Inflammatory polyps were not predictors of complications.Diagnosis of FB aspiration in children is difficult and misdiagnosis as respiratory infections may delay treatment and cause morbidity. Flexible bronchoscopy is a safe procedure and should be performed in suspicious cases. ER -