%0 Journal Article
%T Aural Foreign Bodies: Descriptive Study of 224 Patients in Al-Fallujah General Hospital, Iraq
%A Ahmad Nasrat Al-juboori
%J International Journal of Otolaryngology
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/401289
%X Foreign bodies (FB) in the external auditory canal are relative medical emergency. The objective of this study was to describe the types of FB and their complications and to highlight on new FB not seen before which was the bluetooth devices that were used for cheating during high school examination in Al-Fallujah city. This was a two-year hospital-based descriptive study performed in the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Al-Fallujah General Hospital, from June 2011 to May 2013; during this period, 224 FB had been extracted from 224 patients. Beads were extracted from 68 patients (30.4%), cotton tips were extracted from 50 patients (22.3%), seeds and garlic were extracted from 31 patients (13.8%), papers were extracted from 27 patients (12.1%), insects were extracted from 24 patients (10.7%), button batteries were extracted from 13 patients (5.8%), and bluetooth devices were extracted from 7 patients (3.1%). Most of the cases did not develop complications (87.5%) during extraction. The main complications were canal abrasion (4.5%). Proper instrumentation allows the uncomplicated removal of many FB. The use of general anesthesia is preferred in very young children. Bluetooth device objects should be considered as new aural FB, especially in our territory. 1. Introduction Foreign bodies (FB) in the external auditory meatus are most commonly seen in children who have inserted them into their own ears. Children may present asymptomatically, or with pain or a discharge caused by otitis externa. Adults are often seen with cotton wool or broken matchsticks which have been used to clean or scratch the ear canal [1]. Live insects in the ear, commonly small cockroaches [2], are annoying due to discomfort created by loud noise and movement. FB in the ear is relatively common in emergency medicine. However, attempts of removal made outside the healthcare setting by untrained persons can result in complications of varying degrees [3]. An aural FB can involve damage to tympanic membrane or middle ear by itself or by improper management during removal. The etiology of FB in the ear has been ascribed to general curiosity and a whim to explore orifices in children, playful insertion of FB into others¡¯ body parts, accidental entry of foreign body, preexisting disease in ear causing irritation, and habitual cleaning of ear and nose with objects like ear buds [4, 5]. FB in ear can be classified in many ways like organic-inorganic, animate-inanimate, metallic-nonmetallic, hygroscopic-nonhygroscopic, regular or irregular, soft or hard, and so forth, according to
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijoto/2013/401289/