Foreign body aspiration in adults and in children: advantages and consequences of a dedicated protocol in our 30-year experience.

Background: Foreign body (FB) inhalation is a potentially life-threatening emergency also in clinically stable patients as the situation could worsen at any moment. There is varying opinion regarding the urgency for removal of inhaled FBs, and there are no guidelines in the literature. The aim of our study was to present our experience with FB aspiration in children and adults from 1993, when we introduced our Thoracic Endoscopy Service with the availability "on call" of a bronchologist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, defining a dedicated protocol together with our anaesthesiologists for prompt intervention in this situation.