Laryngotracheal foreign body aspiration presents with which signs?

• A. Bronchial
• B. Laryngotracheal
• C. Esophageal
• D. Nasal

Answer: (B)

Laryngotracheal foreign body aspiration causes signs from upper airway obstruction. When a object sits at the level of the larynx or trachea, the air passage is narrowed high in the airway, leading to stridor — a high-pitched, noisy breath on inhalation (and sometimes biphasic if the obstruction is fixed). You’ll also see sudden coughing or choking as the person tries to clear the airway, and the voice may become hoarse or altered because the vocal cords and surrounding structures are involved. Respiratory distress with rapid breathing and agitation is common, and in severe cases there can be partial or complete obstruction.

These signs distinguish it from a bronchial foreign body, which more often presents with unilateral decreased breath sounds or localized wheeze from obstruction of a mainstem bronchus; an esophageal foreign body tends to produce dysphagia, odynophagia, chest or neck pain, and drooling; and nasal foreign bodies cause nasal obstruction or discharge.