Rigid bronchoscopy results in pediatric patients with foreign body aspiration suspicion during the COVID-19 pandemic and before in Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Objective: The changes in the pattern of referrals and manifestations of foreign body aspiration (FBA) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mashhad City, East of Iran, have yet to be investigated in detail. The present study was conducted to determine the clinical symptoms and results of rigid bronchoscopy in patients referred with suspicion of FBA during the COVID-19 pandemic and before the outbreak. Materials and methods: This retrospective study was conducted by collecting data about hospitalized patients suspected of FBA between the ages of 6 months and 14 years at the Children’s Hospital of Mashhad between 2018 and 2022. The items recorded in this study included age, gender, chief complaint at presentation, accompanying symptoms, duration of hospitalization, bronchoscopy report, and final diagnosis. Results: A total of 394 children with suspicion of FBA with an average age of 29.89 ± 26.97 months (6–157 months) were included, of which 232 (58.9%) were male, and the rest female. Of these, 213 (54.1%) patients were referred before the start of the pandemic, and 181 (45.9%) were referred during it. There was a meaningful difference between the genders (P = 0.019) of the two groups of patients; there were more males during the pandemic. Bronchoscopy results in the two groups had a significant difference (P = 0.033); before the pandemic, a foreign body was observed in 56.3% of the bronchoscopies. In contrast, after the pandemic, this value reached 66.9%. Conclusion: The rate of foreign body observation in bronchoscopy of children suspected of having a foreign body during COVID-19 is higher than in the pre-COVID-19 era.