Risk factors affecting the treatment outcome of pediatric foreign body aspiration: significance of time factors.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to identify the factors affecting the prognosis of children with foreign body aspiration (FBA) after undergoing rigid bronchoscopy. METHODS This was a case series with a chart review of 49 children under 3 years of age who underwent rigid bronchoscopy for suspected FBA at a single tertiary institution. RESULTS The time from symptom onset to hospitalization positively correlated with the total hospitalization time (p < 0.001), postoperative hospitalization time (p = 0.006), and operation time (p = 0.013). The time from symptom onset to operation positively correlated with the total hospitalization time (p < 0.001) and operation time (p = 0.046). The time from hospitalization to operation and the operation time positively correlated with the total hospitalization time (p = 0.026, 0.044) and postoperative hospitalization time (p = 0.049, 0.003). The time from symptom onset to hospitalization positively correlated with the incidence of pneumonia (p = 0.028). CONCLUSION Rapid hospitalization after symptom onset, rapid surgery after symptom onset, and rapid surgery after hospitalization improve the prognosis of patients with FBA. Further, a short operation time also plays a role in improving patient prognosis.