TY - JOUR AU - Moslehi, Mohammad Ashkan PY - 2022/12/07 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Airway foreign bodies in infants younger than 6 months: a referral center experience JF - Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine (JPNIM) JA - J Pediatr Neonat Individual Med VL - 12 IS - 1 SE - DO - 10.7363/120103 UR - https://jpnim.com/index.php/jpnim/article/view/e120103 SP - e120103 AB - <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Background:</strong> Although the most common age for foreign body (FB) aspiration (FBA) is considered from 1 to 4 years old, it can even happen earlier.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Aim:</strong> The purpose of this study is to evaluate the occurrence of FBA in 6-month infants and younger.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Material and methods:</strong> This study is a retrospective analysis of all the cases of FBA in infants under 6 months admitted to Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, Iran, and who underwent flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy from September 2017 to March 2019.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Results:</strong> Medical records of 38 infants under 6 months of age who underwent flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy with a diagnosis of FBA were reviewed retrospectively. 71.1% of the infants were male. History regarding prematurity was positive in 63.2% of the neonates. 55.3% had different degrees of tooth eruption. Sudden-onset cough (97.4%), noisy breathing (92.1%), and cyanotic spells (52.6%) were the 3 most common reported symptoms before hospitalization. Most (73.7%) aspirations occurred in the presence of parents or caregivers. 7.9% of the infants had normal radiographic results. Only 21.1% of the patients were diagnosed and managed within 24 hours after the aspiration. The most common aspirated FBs were organic objects.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Although FBA is more common in older children, it can also occur in infants younger than 6 months. Families, and especially physicians, should be fully informed of the possibility of aspiration at an early age, which can reduce the occurrence of FBA and its irreversible effects.</span></p> ER -