Clinical Features

Clinical features depend on the degree of airway obstruction and the duration of time since aspiration of the FB.

• Children

  • Acute obstructive bronchitis

  • Laryngomalacia

• All ages

  • Tracheal blunt trauma, tumor, or stenosis

  • Laryngeal trauma, tumor/papilloma

  • Anaphylaxis

  • Acute bilateral vocal cord paralysis

  • Bronchial asthma (presents with bilateral wheezing, as opposed to the unilateral wheeze seen in FBA)

  • Spontaneous pneumothorax

  • Pneumonia

  • Tracheobronchial tumor

  • Extrinsic compression or infiltration of a large airway from an adjacent mass