Foreign Body Aspiration

Foreign body aspiration occurs when a foreign body enters the airway, which can cause difficulty breathing or choking; when an object entering from the mouth or nose reaches the respiratory tract rather than the digestive tract it is termed aspiration, and the object can become lodged in the trachea or further down the respiratory tract such as in a bronchus. Any aspiration can be life-threatening and requires timely recognition and action to minimize the risk of complications. Despite advances in management that have significantly improved clinical outcomes, foreign body aspiration still caused 2,700 deaths in 2018, and in the United States roughly one child dies every five days from choking on food.