The cost of foreign body injuries in the upper aero-digestive tract: Need for a change from a clinical to a public health perspective?

Ear, nose and throat foreign bodies: The experience of the Pediatric Hospital of Turin

“…ENT FB injuries represent an emerging problem in the paediatric population because of their human and social costs: several authors considered this topic but in literature, there are no systematic reviews about FB epidemiology, clinical features, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies and costs. Moreover, there is a lack of studies that consider FB locations altogether; only the European Survey on Foreign Bodies Injuries studies collected data from 19 European countries analysing patients’ and FBs’ characteristics and their correlations with complications and hospitalisation …”

“…In the last decades, an apparent increased number of ear, nose and throat (ENT) foreign bodies (FBs) has been observed and it is probably justified by the creation of online and easily accessible medical record networks. Several research groups started investigating this topic because FBs were raised as a public health concern, both for the costs on the injured children and their families’ quality of life and for their socio‐economic impact …”

Injuries due to foreign body aspirations in Georgia: A prevention perspective

“…Surely, this study represents only a first step toward the indepth Georgian study of the specific characteristics of foreign bodies associated with increased hazard [10], such as nature, size, shape, hardness or firmness, lubricity, pliability and elasticity, in order to better identify risky objects and to implement appropriate prevention campaigns aimed at reducing incidence of injuries and their overall burden [11]. Indeed, a major limitation of the study is the absence of quality data on the clinical management of the patient, timing of endoscopy and/or surgery and iatrogenic complications.…”

Perfil epidemiológico de los pacientes con cuerpos extraños en el Servicio de Otorrinolaringología del Hospital Central de Maputo observados de 1983 a 2009

“…La literatura no refleja la magnitud de la problemática, sin embargo estudios publicados muestran que los CE en los servicios de ORL representan un importante problema de salud 1 . Los CE producen trastornos físicos, emocionales y económicos en las personas dañadas y en los Servicios de Salud.…”

“…La literatura focaliza el tema de los CE como un problema clínico, existiendo pocos estudios que abarquen el impacto en la salud pública 1 . Según la literatura, los niños son los más afectados 2 .…”