Endobronchial foreign bodies in pediatric work – history and clinical signs suggestive of diagnosis

<bold>Aim:</bold> Evaluation of anamnestic and clinical signs for the early diagnosis of foreign body aspiration in the bronchial tree. <bold>Methods:</bold> The study included 156 children admitted to the Pneumology Clinic Mother and Child Institute, in a period of 10 years (2011-2020), who were diagnosed with endobronchial foreign bodies. Diagnostic-curative bronchoscopy was performed with the rigid bronchoscope. <bold>Results:</bold> Penetration syndrome was reported in 103 cases (66.0%95%CI 65.007-66.992), but only one-third of these patients presented to the hospital in the first 3 days after the incident. In these cases, the diagnosis was easy and fast, and the foreign bodies were extracted early. The most common symptoms in children with ACS were cough, present in 100% of cases, dyspnea of varying degrees in 147 (95%CI 146.209-147.79) children (94.2%) and wheezing in 96 (95 %CI 95.209-96.79) of cases (61.5%). Pulmonary auscultation revealed diminished vesicular murmur in 75 cases (48.07%), wet rales in 88 cases (56.41%), sibilant rales in 111 cases (71.15%), and the absence of otoacoustic changes in 4 cases (2. 56%). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Aspiration of foreign bodies in the respiratory tract is relatively common in children, especially at the age of 1-3 years. The presence of penetration syndrome, cough, dyspnea and wheezing are suggestive for establishing the diagnosis and performing bronchoscopy.