Late diagnosis of Foreign Body Aspiration in a Libyan Infant with Chronic Respiratory Problems: A Challenging Diagnosis

:-Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is one of the leading causes of death in children, especially among those younger than 3 years of age1 . Inhalation of foreign bodies may cause a variety of symptoms, and early diagnosis is highly associated with the successful removal of the inhaled foreign material. Despite the great advances in endoscopic procedures and anesthesia, difficulties and complications still result from foreign body aspiration. In some cases, the ingested foreign body cannot be found or maybe misdiagnosed. Mismanagement of patients with FBA increases the length of symptomatic period, the rate of complications and also the cost before the correct diagnosis is reached. This report describes the case of an infant with foreign body inhalation, caused by ingestion of a metal object (TV Cable Converter) that was given to him by his sister. The foreign body could not be discovered by some pediatricians and was misdiagnosed with other causes of wheezy chest. We describe one case of serious acute complications following aspiration of foreign bodies that became lodged in the tracheobronchial tree including atelectasis, vocal cord laceration, and tracheal laceration and subglottic edema. These were all situations that could have been prevented with early recognition and prompt therapeutic intervention