Physical Signs Of Tracheal Foreign Body
Categories:
FOREIGN BODIES IN THE AIR AND FOOD PASSAGES
Sources:
A Manual Of Peroral Endoscopy And Laryngeal Surgery
If fixed in the trachea the only objective sign of foreign body may be
a wheezing respiration, the site of which may be localized with the
stethoscope, by the intensity of the sound. Movable foreign bodies may
produce a palpatory thrill, and the rumble and sudden stop can be
heard with the stethoscope and often with the naked ear. The lungs
will show equal aeration, but there may be marked dyspnea without the
indrawing of the fossae, if the object be of large size and located
below the manubrium.
To the peculiar sound of the sudden subglottic, expiratory or bechic
arrest of the foreign body the author has given the name audible
slap; when felt by the thumb on the trachea he calls it the
palpatory thud. These signs can be produced by no condition other
than the arrest of some substance by the subglottic taper. Once heard
and felt they are unmistakable.