DISCUSSION
Most patients with NFB are aged nine months to six years, and older
children with mental illnesses7,9. Most NFB are
non-organic, including beads, toys, batteries and
magnets10. Seventy-five percent of NFB are
asymptomatic. Chronic nasal discharge with foul smell is the most common
presenting symptom, while epistaxis, nasal blockage, high fever and
swelling of the face are less common presenting
symptoms11. A long-standing NFB may result in the
formation of granulation tissue and rhinoliths12. NFB
removal more than 72 hours following insertion was assessed as four
times more likely to fail and become complicated, compared to early
removal13.
Our 10-year cohort comprised 562 children who attended the ED with a
documented NFB upon physical examination. There was a slight
predisposition of female to male ratio of 1.2, as was shown in previous
studies. Most of the patients (85%) were aged 2-5 years. A possible
explanation for the high incidence rates among 2-year-olds is the
development of the pincer grasp milestone14.
Right-side insertion was more common (56%), presumably due to
right-handed predominance in the population15. In
accordance with the literature16, most of the NFB were
nonorganic (65%). Organic NFB accounted for 30%, and 5% were
batteries and magnets. Most patients who presented with NFB were
asymptomatic (82%), regardless of age and gender, as reported in
previous studies17.