Review of 78 Cases Foreign Body in the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

Lee, Ki Se; Lee, Seung Hoon; Suh, In Suk; Kim, Eun Hwa; Choi, Yong Woo; Lee, Yong Ung

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Impaction of a foreign body in the upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract is common in children and old ages, It is recommended to remove the foreign bodies if they produce symptoms, are retained in UQI tract for long period, or have the possibilities of producing complications. The purpose of this study is to characterize the climical feature of fareign bodies in UGI tract.
METHODS
By means of flexible endoscopy, we have examined 87 patients with suspicion of UGI foreign body among the patients visiting our medical center from January 1992 to June 1997. The 78 patients of them were proven to have foreign bodies in UGI tract.
RESULTS
They are prevailing in patients over 60s. For the remaining 9 patients, despite having a history of foreign body ingestion and symptoms, subsequent investigation failed to demonstrate the impaction of foreign bodies. The most comman fareign bodies were fish bones and the most common symptom was throat discomfort. The most frequent localization of the impaction was the cricopharyngeal sphincter. In 97% of the cases, the fareign bodies could be removed endoscopically with a few complications.
CONCLUSIONS
Clmical history is the main indicator in the decision to perform endoscopic removal of suspected foreign bodies. We suggest that endoscopic removal as soon as possible is recommenended even if the foreign body is only suspected.