Abstract
OBJECTIVE: There are only two previous reports of wild barley inhalation into the tracheobronchial tree in the literature. Our aim is to describe the effects, outcome and management of wild barely inhalation into the airways.
METHODS: In a retrospective study, 18 patients with inhalation of spike of wild barley into the tracheobronchial tree were divided into 2 groups according to their clinical presentation.
RESULTS: Eighteen children below 5 years of age presented between 1989 and 1994 inclusive. Fourteen patients presented with a short duration of choking and cough The wild barley spike was removed by laryngoscopy (12 patients) or rigid bronchoscopy (2 patients). Four patients presented with a longer history of cough, dyspnea and fever and had serious respiratory disease such as pneumothorax, lobar pneumonia and pleural empyema requiring surgical intervention. All patients made a satisfactory recovery.
CONCLUSION: Wild barley is a common grass in our area and we should be aware that children are exposed to the risk of inhalation into the airways.
- Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
