Foreign Body, Nasal
Basics
Description
Description
- Object impacted in the nasal cavity
- Most common site of foreign body insertion in children
- Type of foreign body limited only by nostril size
- Can be missed and remain for weeks or months
- Usually located at the floor of the inferior turbinate or anterior to the middle turbinate
- Population at risk:
- Children between 2–6 yr most common
- Mental retardation
- Psychiatric illness
- Causes of worsening impaction and difficulties with removal:
- Organic material may expand if moistened
- Mucosal swelling over time
- Complications:
- Sinusitis is the most common complication
- Foreign bodies may migrate into the sinuses
- Septal perforation
- Bronchial aspiration
- High risk of complications with button batteries:
- Mucosa ischemia
- Turbinate or septal damage
- Saddle-nose deformity
Etiology
Etiology
- Organic vs. inorganic
- Food
- Beans
- Seeds
- Beads
- Rocks
- Paper
- Pieces of toys
- Sponge pieces
- Vegetable matter
- Insects and live worms (rare)
- Button batteries:
- High risk of complications compared with other foreign bodies (tissue necrosis, septal perforation, saddle-nose deformity); require rapid removal
- Septal perforation can occur in as little as 4 hr
- Magnets:
- Used to mimic nasal piercing
- Often imbedded in nasal tissue, leading to difficult removal
- May cause intestinal perforation if swallowed, especially newer high-power neodymium magnets
- Glass fragments
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Citation
Schaider, Jeffrey J., et al., editors. "Foreign Body, Nasal." 5-Minute Emergency Consult, 6th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2020. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307587/all/Foreign_Body__Nasal.
Foreign Body, Nasal. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307587/all/Foreign_Body__Nasal. Accessed December 10, 2024.
Foreign Body, Nasal. (2020). In Schaider, J. J., Barkin, R. M., Hayden, S. R., Wolfe, R. E., Barkin, A. Z., Shayne, P., & Rosen, P. (Eds.), 5-Minute Emergency Consult (6th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307587/all/Foreign_Body__Nasal
Foreign Body, Nasal [Internet]. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, Wolfe RER, Barkin AZA, Shayne PP, Rosen PP, editors. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. [cited 2024 December 10]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307587/all/Foreign_Body__Nasal.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
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T1 - Foreign Body, Nasal
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ED - Wolfe,Richard E,
BT - 5-Minute Emergency Consult
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PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
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