All issues > Volume 47(4); 2004

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2004;47(4):399-404. Published online April 15, 2004.

Values of Lung CT in Children with a Vague History of Aspiration

Myoung-Bum MB Choi¹, Hyang-Ok HO Woo¹, Jum-Su JS Kim¹, Ji-Hyoun JH Seo¹, Jae-Young JY Lim¹, Chan-Hoo CH Park¹, Jin-Jong JJ You², Hee-Shang HS Youn¹

¹Departments of Pediatrics, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju, Korea
²Departments of Diagnostic Radiology, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Jinju, Korea

Correspondence Hyang-Ok HO Woo ,Email: howoo@nongae.gsnu.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of spiral computed tomography (CT) using contiguous slices with partially thin sections around the hilar level in the bronchial foreign bodies of children with a vague history of aspiration.
Methods
: Fourteen children were identified to be examined with spiral CT due to obscure histories of aspiration episodes. A retrospective analysis of the medical records provided information concerning the clinical and radiological findings.
Results
: Of the 14 patients examined with spiral CT, there were no significant differences among the clinical and initial radiological findings with the exception of gender distribution. However, the spiral CT scans allowed accurate discrimination among patients with a vague history of aspiration episodes, in which seven were identified with bronchial foreign body aspiration and seven with bronchiolitis, asthma, tracheobronchitis and/or pneumonia.
Conclusion
: We found that spiral CT using contiguous slices with partially thin sections around the hilar level are a useful non-invasive method in the early diagnosis of bronchial foreign bodies in children with a vague history of aspiration.

Keywords :Bronchial foreign body aspiration, Diagnosis, Computed tomography(CT), High-resolution computed tomography(HRCT)