Outcome of general anesthesia for rigid bronchoscopy for removal of aspirated tracheobronchial foreign body in children

Objective: to study the immediate postoperative recovery outcome of general anesthesia for removal of aspirated foreign body in children. patients and methods: this prospective study was conducted at the children's hospital lahore,from 2010 - 2012. during the study,88 patients were studied by applying standard guidelines of general anesthesia for rigid bronchoscopy,recovery room monitoring and post-operative problems were studied for 45 - 90 minutes. results: in our study,88 children for the removal of tracheobronchial foreign body under general anesthesia were included. most patients were below 3 years of age with mean of 2.3 years. clinical,radiological features,types and location of foreign body were studied. history of chocking was in 58 children (65-90%). 59 children (67.04%) presented within 24 hours of foreign body aspiration. 18 children (20.45%) presented between 1-7 days. organic foreign body was removed in 70 children (79.54%). in recovery room arterial desaturation periods were noted as spo2 ≤ 92% in children with delayed presentation,with pre-op wheeze and on oxygen inhalation,and bronchosopy time ≥ 20 minutes. periods of desaturation was treated. patients were shifted safely to wards and high dependency unit (hdu) and managed accordingly. conclusion: general anesthesia is required for removal of tracheobronchial foreign body in children. by applying standard guidelines,enhanced communication,effective co-operation,teamwork and skills resulted in good outcome even in demanding cases.