Pediatric Emergencies Practice Test

A swallowed rigid foreign body in an infant leads to respiratory distress primarily because:

The esophageal foreign body can compress the relatively pliable trachea It causes laryngospasm It enters the bronchus It causes airway edema

Correct Answer:

The esophageal foreign body can compress the relatively pliable trachea

Explanation:

The key idea is that the airway distress comes from external compression of the trachea by a rigid object stuck in the esophagus. In infants, the esophagus lies directly behind the trachea, and the trachea is small and relatively pliable because the cartilage is not fully firm yet. A rigid foreign body in the esophagus can press forward against the trachea, narrowing the airway and causing rapid breathing, stridor, and distress. Laryngospasm or edema are possible but not the primary mechanism here, and a object in the bronchus would produce different, localized findings rather than global respiratory distress.

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