Foreign bodies in ear, nose and throat patients ,review of causes and management in Kirkuk city

Abstract

Background :Ear, nose and throat (ENT) foreign body (FB) injuries represent an emerging problem of population because of their human and social costs. Foreign body in ear nose and throat are commonly encountered by otolaryngologists, pediatricians and primary care physicians. They account to about 11% of cases of emergencies in Otorhinolaryngology. Foreign bodies were most common in younger children less than five years of age. Certain factors are responsible leading to foreign body insertion in ear, nose and throat like curiosity or desire to explore orifices especially by children in addition to accidental causes.
Patients and methods:This is a prospective study carried out in Azadi Teaching Hospital involving the patients and it ran from 1st of October 2014until 6th March 2015.
Information  from  110  patients  were  collected,  and  each  one  of  them  was  interviewed  using  a questionnaire. The questionnaire sought information regarding age, sex, site and location, type of management of foreign bodies, number of trial to remove the foreign bodies, presence of complication or not and types of foreign bodies seen.
Results :Concerning the site and location of foreign bodies 40.9% were found in ear while 39.1% in nose and the remaining 20% were in throat. The study showed higher percentage of foreign bodies among children less than 5 years old and male patient .Also it was noted that most of the foreign bodies were removed from fist trial and that only 31,8% of the patients had experienced complications .
Conclusions: From this study we conclude that foreign bodies are common in adult and pediatric ear, nose and throat. They can potentially be  associated with significant complications if not taken  care of immediately. Several trials may be needed to remove the foreign body.