A Survey on the Esophagus Foreign Bodies among patients in Fatemy Hospital, Ardabil, 1998-2001

Swallowing foreign bodies and their impaction in esophagus is common among children and proper diagnosis and treatment of this problem will decrease its complications. The objective of this study was to evaluate esophageal foreign bodies. 62 patients with complaining about foreign body ingestion were studied and factors such as age, sex, the kind of foreign body, the treatment done, its complications and the length of hospitalization were considered. Of sixty- two patients, 30 were male and 32 were female. Coin was the most common foreign body in children (24 cases) while in adults bone (chicken or fish) was more common (19 cases). In the patients most of the foreign bodies were impacted in the upper esophagus at the cricopharengeal junction. In all patients except one case (in which endoscopic forceps was used to remove the foreign body) esophagoscopy was performed under general anesthesia to remove the impacted foreign bodies. Complication was seen in one case as bleeding. Since the esophageal foreign body is prevalent among children it is necessary to prevent it through offering adequate to parents.