Vol.98 No.2 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 98 No. 2 February 2005
Foreign Bodies of the Airway and Food Passage
Hideki Hirabayashi
(Dokkyo University School of Medicine)
The handling of the airway and food passage for foreign bodies is important for the otorhinolaryngologist. Death by suffocation by foreign bodies in the elderly had increased. Cases of foreign bodies in the airway and food passage have been shown, and the correlations explained.
In addition, the reasons a foreign body is missed include the following: the foreign substance is not shown by X-ray, the patient does not recognize the foreign body has been misswallowed, and the doctor does not suspect a foreign body.
It has been reported that there are more than 50 incidents of the food passage being punctured by a foreign body each year in Japan. Attention not only to foreign bodies in the throat but also to foreign bodies in the food passage is necessary.
Furthermore, technology for urgent treatment and preparation are necessary, for any condition. Participation in training, and re-practice of emergency treatment are necessary.
Key words : airway foreign body, food passage foreign body, misswallow