Download PDF
Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2023; 71(06): 504-508
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1763285
Original Thoracic

The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Foreign Body Aspiration

Kubra Ozturk
1   Department of Pediatric Surgery, Medical Faculty, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
,
Ozlem Boybeyi 
1   Department of Pediatric Surgery, Medical Faculty, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
,
Tutku Soyer 
1   Department of Pediatric Surgery, Medical Faculty, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
    Permissions and Reprints All articles of this category

Abstract

Background This article evaluates the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on clinical course and management of cases that underwent bronchoscopy for suspected foreign body aspiration (FBA) in children.

Methods The patients who underwent bronchoscopy with a presumptive diagnosis of FBA between July 2018 and December 2021 were evaluated for demographic features, clinical findings, management details, and outcomes. Patients were divided in two groups: before pandemic (group A) and during pandemic (group B).

Results In total 79 cases with a median age of 5 years (4–5) in group A (n = 47) and 3 years (2–3) in group B (n = 32) were included (p < 0.05). The witnessed aspiration was significantly higher in group B (90.6%) when compared to group A (53%) (p < 0.05). Admission time was less than 48 hours in 30 cases (64%) in group A and 23 cases (72%) in group B (p = 0.002). The intervention time was less than 24 hours in 30 cases (64%) in group A, 9 cases (28%) in group B (p = 0.002). Bronchoscopy was performed after COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing in all cases in group B. The positive FBA rate was 38% (n = 18) in group A, and 59% (n = 19) in group B (p = 0.067).

Conclusion During pandemics, bronchoscopy for FBA was performed in younger infants than before pandemic and witnessed aspiration was significantly more common in that period. The differences in age groups and symptoms may be explained by spending more time at home during pandemics. Waiting for the PCR test results causes delays in the intervention. However, this delay did not cause any respiratory distress.

Keywords

COVID-19 - pandemic - bronchoscopy - foreign body aspiration

Note

The study was presented and awarded as the best poster presentation at the 39th Turkish Pediatric Surgery Congress, on November 2nd–5th, 2022, Aydın, Turkey.




Publication History

Received: 15 November 2022

Accepted: 14 January 2023

Article published online:
01 March 2023

© 2023. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

  • References

  • 1 Zhijun C, Fugao Z, Niankai Z, Jingjing C. Therapeutic experience from 1428 patients with pediatric tracheobronchial foreign body. J Pediatr Surg 2008; 43 (04) 718-721
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Rizk H, Rassi S. Foreign body inhalation in the pediatric population: lessons learned from 106 cases. Eur Ann Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Dis 2011; 128 (04) 169-174
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Chen X, Zhang C. Foreign body aspiration in children: focus on the impact of delayed treatment. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2017; 96: 111-115
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Özyüksel G, Arslan UE, Boybeyi-Türer Ö, Tanyel FC, Soyer T. New scoring system to predict foreign body aspiration in children. J Pediatr Surg 2020; 55 (08) 1663-1666
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Hameed S, Reddy Y M. A tertiary care centre experience on the management of paediatric tracheobronchial foreign body during the COVID 19 pandemic. Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2022; 74 (Suppl. 02) 3473-3480
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Wang C, Horby PW, Hayden FG, Gao GF. A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. Lancet 2020; 395 (10223): 470-473
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Reddy PD, Nguyen SA, Deschler D. Bronchoscopy, laryngoscopy, and esophagoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Head Neck 2020; 42 (07) 1634-1637
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Özyüksel G, Soyer T, Üzümcügil F. et al. Foreign body aspiration in infants: role of self-feeding. Pediatr Allergy Immunol Pulmonol 2019; 32 (02) 52-55
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Kiyan G, Gocmen B, Tugtepe H, Karakoc F, Dagli E, Dagli TE. Foreign body aspiration in children: the value of diagnostic criteria. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2009; 73 (07) 963-967
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Janahi IA, Khan S, Chandra P. et al. A new clinical algorithm scoring for management of suspected foreign body aspiration in children. BMC Pulm Med 2017; 17 (01) 61
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Paksu S, Paksu MS, Kilic M. et al. Foreign body aspiration in childhood: evaluation of diagnostic parameters. Pediatr Emerg Care 2012; 28 (03) 259-264
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Francom CR, Javia LR, Wolter NE. et al. Pediatric laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a four-center collaborative protocol to improve safety with perioperative management strategies and creation of a surgical tent with disposable drapes. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2020; 134: 110059
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar