Reggio Emilia: saved an 11-month-old child in Santa Maria – Reggionline

The boy had been hospitalized a few weeks ago for alleged laryngitis, but after a few days he returned to the emergency room: he had a piece of plastic in his throat.

REGGIO EMILIA – He presented himself, brought by his parents, in serious condition to the Santa Maria hospital after accidentally inhaling a piece of hard plastic. The 11-month-old baby was saved thanks to the intervention of an interdisciplinary team led by the doctor Angelo Ghidini, Director of the Department of Otolaryngology and composed of pediatric anesthesiologists Elisa Iannella and Vincenzo Preveggenti and the nurse team coordinated by Andrea Erba.

About fifteen days before the admission of the child in pediatrics after access to the emergency room for an episode of sudden dyspnea at night (difficulty breathing). The appearance of nocturnal disturbances and symptoms suggested laryngitis with common virulent hypoglottis edema. There was no obvious sign that could suggest the ingestion of a foreign body.

During the hospitalization, the child was treated with antibiotics and cortisones that had a positive effect, thus validating the initial clinical suspicion. The area of ​​edematous inflammation, located just below the vocal cords, was progressively resolved by the drugs administered. Therefore, after performing control tests to monitor clinical objectivity, the child was discharged. In fact, instrumental investigations were found to be compatible with very frequent laryngitis during this period of early cold in patients of this age.

A few days later, however, the baby was again hospitalized for a second bout of nocturnal dyspnea. At this point, the doctors decided to schedule a laringo trachéoscopie in the operating room sedation; This procedure is particularly complex and delicate at the same time as it is performed under general anesthesia, with a free larynx (without intubation of the patient), and according to the age of the child. During the investigation, the presence of a foreign body consisting of a piece of hard plastic about 2 cm and sharp edges localized, embedded and concealed in the context of l & # 39; Edema below the plane of the glottis (where they are) the vocal cords). As a result, it was immediately removed. The airway obstruction was about 80% and therefore, if it had not been removed, the foreign body could have smothered it.

"It's a complex procedure," says Dr. Ghidini, "which can only be done with the help of a team of experienced endoscopists in airway management, anesthesiologists and specialized nurses. patients of a few months is completely different from that of adults and requires training and clinical expertise that can only be acquired through a specific preparation in this direction. "