This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ansley, J. F.
Right arrow Articles by Cunningham, M. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ansley, J. F.
Right arrow Articles by Cunningham, M. J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Dentistry & Otolaryngology

PEDIATRICS Vol. 101 No. 4 April 1998, pp. 638-641

Treatment of Aural Foreign Bodies in Children

Received Jun 30, 1997; accepted Sep 4, 1997.

John F. Ansley* and Michael J. CunninghamDagger

From the * Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School; and the Dagger  Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts.

Objective.  To determine the proper treatment of children and adolescents with foreign bodies of the external auditory canal (EAC).

Design.  Retrospective case series.

Setting.  Specialty care referral hospital.

Patients.  All patients younger than 18 years of age who presented in the emergency ward or office setting with a foreign body of the EAC during a 5-year period.

Results.  One hundred ninety-one patients with aural foreign bodies were identified. Age at presentation ranged from 10 months to 17 years with 141 patients (74%) younger than 8 years old. Twenty-seven different objects were encountered with pebbles, beads, insects, and plastic toys the most common. Fifty-seven (30%) of the patients required surgical removal of the aural foreign body under general anesthesia.

Conclusion.  Adequate immobilization and proper instrumentation allow the uncomplicated removal of many EAC foreign bodies in the pediatric population. The use of general anesthesia is preferred in very young children and in children of any age with aural foreign bodies whose contour, composition, or location predispose to traumatic removal in the ambulatory setting. Criteria for otolaryngologic referral and consideration of operative microscopic removal are outlined.

Key words: foreign body, ear, children.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Inj. Prev.Home page
News and Notes
Inj. Prev., December 1, 1998; 4(4): 263 - 265.
[Full Text] [PDF]