Foreign Body Aspiration: Complications

The following are the most important diseases or complications that may be contributed to by foreign body aspiration:

Respiratory system (J00-J99)

  • Aspiration pneumonia (pneumonia) – when the contaminated foreign body remains in the respiratory tract.
  • Atelectasis (lack of ventilation of sections of the lungs).
  • Bronchiectasis (synonym: bronchiectasis) – permanent irreversible saccular or cylindrical dilatation of the bronchi; symptoms: chronic cough with “mouthful expectoration” (large-volume triple-layered sputum: foam, mucus, and pus), fatigue, weight loss, and decreased exercise capacity
  • Bronchitis (inflammation of the mucous membranes in the bronchi), chronic
  • Lung abscess (encapsulated collection of pus in the lungs).
  • Pneumothorax – collapse of the lung caused by an accumulation of air between the visceral pleura (lung pleura) and the parietal pleura (chest pleura)
  • Stenosis (narrowing) due to granulation tissue or scars.
  • Hyperinflation of the bronchi – the inflow of air is not affected by the foreign body, but the outflow is
  • Obstruction of the major airways – leads to massive dyspnea (shortness of breath), cyanosis (bluish discoloration of skin and central mucous membranes, e.g. tongue), hypoxia (lack of oxygen supply to tissues), asystole (cardiac arrest), in the worst case death
  • In case of unrecognized foreign body aspiration:
    • Chronic cough
    • Recurrent (recurring) pulmonary (affecting the lungs) infections

Symptoms and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)

  • Bolus death (death due to reflex cardiac arrest induced by a large bolus (foreign body) in the pharyngeal (throat) or laryngeal (larynx) region) – immediate life-saving measure for impending asphyxiation or bolus death is the Heimlich maneuver, also called the Heimlich maneuver.Procedure: The rescuer grasps the patient’s upper abdomen from behind with his arms, forming a fist with one hand and placing it below the ribs and sternum. He then grips the fist with the other hand and pulls it straight back toward his body in a jerky manner. This creates an increase in pressure in the lungs, which is intended to move the foreign body out of the trachea. The maneuver may be performed up to five times.Contraindications: unconsciousness, condition after drowning, airway not completely closed (eg, by fish bone), age < 1 year.
  • Hemoptysis (hemoptysis).