Foreign body aspirations in children: A retrospective analysis in a tertiary care paediatric hospital

A one year retrospective analysis of tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration done at a tertiary care paediatric referral hospital in south India admitted in one year span in 2016-2017. The anaesthetic management in these cases is one of challenging aspect in the retrieval of the foreign body. Most of these cases present as emergency and delay in proper management which results in serious morbidity and mortality. Bronchoscopy is required in most of these cases and because of the shared airway by anaesthetist and surgeon it becomes extremely challenging, requiring well trained and experienced team and can lead to disastrous situations if not managed in a proper and timely manner. Here we are discussing and analyzing the anaesthetic management and outcome of all these foreign body cases which had come to the operation theatre for foreign body removal in the one year from October 2016 to September 2017. Out of the 98 patients who had presented with features of tracheobronchial foreign body we were able to retrieve foreign bodies in 82.6% of the cases. The safest method to retrieve a airway foreign body is by using general anaesthesia.