Pediatric external auditory canal foreign bodies: a review of 698 cases. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2002 Jul;127(1):73-8
Date
08/06/2002Pubmed ID
12161734DOI
10.1067/mhn.2002.126724Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0036631852 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 97 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: The study goal was to determine the relationships between patient management factors and patient outcomes in pediatric patients with external auditory canal foreign bodies.
STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective analysis was conducted of 698 consecutive cases of pediatric external auditory canal foreign bodies (n = 605 patients) who presented to a tertiary care pediatric referral center during a 6-year period.
RESULTS: Emergency physicians frequently removed foreign bodies under direct visualization while otolaryngologists primarily used otomicroscopy. Both of these methods had high success rates overall (77% and 86%), but attempts under direct visualization had lower success rates with removing spherical objects, objects touching the tympanic membrane, and objects in the canal for more than 24 hours. Failed removal attempts resulted in higher complication rates.
CONCLUSION: Certain foreign body and patient characteristics are associated with poor outcomes with removal attempts made under direct visualization. These cases should be referred directly to otolaryngologists for otomicroscopic removal.
Author List
Schulze SL, Kerschner J, Beste DAuthor
David J. Beste MD Professor in the Otolaryngology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Age Distribution
Child
Child, Preschool
Ear Canal
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Foreign Bodies
Humans
Incidence
Male
Otolaryngology
Otoscopes
Probability
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Sex Distribution
Treatment Outcome
