Marble Mouth- Oropharyngeal Foreign Bodies in Kids

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In this blog and podcast we review the complexity of the oral foreign body (FB) in kids and why this disease process is so tough to handle.

There are 4 important branch points in the care of these kids. Let's address them in order.

1. ROUTE OF MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION

  • This is the first decision and depends on the age, weight, and acuity of the child.

  • The routes to consider are Intranasal (IN), Intramuscular (IM), Intravenous (IV) and Intraosseous (IO). 

  • You will need an angiocath, an atomizer, a needle for IM, and an IO gun.

  • All should be available at the bedside to respond to a child's changing condition.

2. MEDICATION CHOICE

  • Remember K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid.

  • You need to know a few medications well.

  • In my mind there are three medictions to know here: midazolam, ketamine and succinylcholine.

marble mouth medications 2.jpg
  • With these medications, we can take the child from slightly sleepy to full rapid sequence administration (or anywhere in between).

3. RETRIEVAL

  • We want bedside suction as well as devices to remove the FB.

  • Magills forceps are great for this given the curve after the handle and looped forceps.

  • Consider a foley to pass past the FB, inflate the balloon, and pull back to dislodge.

 

4. AIRWAY

 

Peds Foreign Body Case Reports:

Duggan LV, Theron R, Hodgson AL, Kozak FK. Airway Management and Definitive Care of a Toddler Following Impalement Injury by a Metal Straw. A Case Rep. 2016 Oct 1;7(7):143-5.[pubmed]

Park EJ, Espinel AG, Shah RK, Reddy SK. Challenging airway in a paediatric patient impaled by a freezer pop stick. BMJ Case Rep. 2017 Aug 3;2017. pii: bcr-2017-220620. [pubmed]

Saricicek V, Sahin L, Mizrak A, Sen E. Endotracheal intubation of a paediatric patient with an umbrella wire embedded in the palate to the posterior wall of the nasopharynx using a GlideScope video laryngoscope. BMJ Case Rep. 2014 Oct 23;2014. pii: bcr2014204478. [pubmed]

Rocuronium IM literature:

Kaplan RF, Uejima T, Lobel G, Goudsouzian N, Ginsberg B, Hannallah R, Coté CJ, Denman W, Griffith R, Clarke C, Hummer K. Intramuscular rocuronium in infants and children: a multicenter study to evaluate tracheal intubating conditions, onset, and duration of action. Anesthesiology. 1999 Sep;91(3):633-8. [pubmed]

Reynolds LM, Lau M, Brown R, Luks A, Fisher DM. Intramuscular rocuronium in infants and children. Dose-ranging and tracheal intubating conditions. Anesthesiology. 1996 Aug;85(2):231-9. [pubmed]

Other helpful links!

Down East Guideline on Pediatric Sedation

Down East Pediatric Intranasal Medication Administration Guideline

Pediatric Foreign Bodies Lecture, Amber Richards MD, Maine Medical Center PEM faculty



Peer Reviewed by Jeff Holmes MD