Diagnosis and treatment of esophageal foregin bodies in children

Esophageal foregin bodies are a common finding in the pediatric population. Even though the great majority passes spontaneously, a small part of them can stop at different esophageal levels resulting in occlusions which could complicate with perforations. In 75% of cases, esophageal foreign bodies stop at the anatomical esophageal strictures. The authors present an observational retrospective study performed on a cohort of 49 children who have been hospitalized for esophageal foreign bodies on the ENT Department of Grigore Alexandrescu Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children, during January 2012 and December 2013. The cohort was formed of 22 girls and 27 boys with age ranging from 9 months to 17 years. The main foreign bodies identified were coins and food.