User:Ameliaw/sandbox

Lead

Signs and Symptoms

Causes (risk factors, triggers, genetics)

-In children, the main causes of choking leading to injury or death are food, coins, toys, and balloons (AAP).

-Children ages 1-3 are especially at risk because they explore the world by putting objects in their mouth. Also, they do not chew food completely before their molar teeth appear.

-Children who are 3 years or younger are especially at risk because of “developlemental vulnerabilities of a young child’s airway”, “underdeveloped ability to chew and swallow”, and they “commonly put objects in their mouths as they explore their environment”

Foods that pose a high risk of choking include hot dogs, hard candy, nuts, seeds, whole grapes, raw carrots, apples, popcorn, peanut butter, marshmallows, gum, and sausages.

Children younger than age three are especially at risk of choking because they explore the environment by putting objects in their mouth. Also, young children are still developing the ability to chew food completely. Molar teeth, which come in around 1.5 years of age, are necessary for grinding food. Even after molar teeth are present, children continue developing the ability to chew food completely and swallow throughout early childhood. In addition, a child's airway is smaller in diameter than an adult's airway, which means that smaller objects can cause an airway obstruction in children. Infants and young children generate a less forceful cough than adults, so coughing may not be as effective in relieving an airway obstruction.

In adults, choking often involves food blocking the airway. Risk factors include using alcohol or sedatives, undergoing a procedure involving the oral cavity or pharynx, wearing oral appliances, or having a medical condition that causes difficulty swallowing or impairs the cough reflex. Conditions that can cause difficulty swallowing and/or impaired coughing include strokes and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer disease or Parkinson disease. In older adults, risk factors also include living alone, wearing dentures, and having difficulty swallowing.

Children and adults with neurologic, cognitive, or psychiatric disorders may experience a delay in diagnosis because there may not be a known history of a foreign body entering the airway.

Mechanism??

 Diagnosis 

Prevention

Providers such as pediatricians and dentists can provide information to caregivers about what food and toys are appropriate by age to prevent choking (AAP). The American Academy of Pediatricians recommends waiting until 6 months of age before introducing solid foods to infants. Parents can supervise children while eating or playing. Also, parents can avoid giving children younger than 5 foods that pose a high risk of choking such as hot dog pieces, cheese sticks, cheese chunks, hard candy, nuts, grapes, marshmallows, or popcorn. Parents, teachers, child care providers, and other caregivers for children get training in choking first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (AAP).

In the US, manufacturers of children's toys and products must follow requirements to prevent choking and include appropriate warning labels (AAP). However, toys that are resold may not be marked with warning labels (AAP). Caregivers can try to prevent choking by considering the features of a toy (such as size, shape, and consistency) before giving it to a child (AAP). Children's products that are found to pose a choking risk can be recalled (AAP).

Treatment

 Outcomes 

Epidemiology (incidence, prevalence, age distribution, sex ratio)

·     Choking is the fourth most common cause of unintentional injury-related death in the US. There were 4,800 deaths from choking in the US in 2013.

·     There is a higher risk of choking in children, especially age 1-3.

·     There is also an increase in the rate of choking after age 74.

·     There is a 2:1 male to female ratio of choking.

Society and Culture

Special populations (Geriatrics, children, person who is pregnant or obese etc)

Other animals