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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.



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