DISCUSSION
Most patients with NFB are aged nine months to six years, and older children with mental illnesses7,9. Most NFB are non-organic, including beads, toys, batteries and magnets10. Seventy-five percent of NFB are asymptomatic. Chronic nasal discharge with foul smell is the most common presenting symptom, while epistaxis, nasal blockage, high fever and swelling of the face are less common presenting symptoms11. A long-standing NFB may result in the formation of granulation tissue and rhinoliths12. NFB removal more than 72 hours following insertion was assessed as four times more likely to fail and become complicated, compared to early removal13.
Our 10-year cohort comprised 562 children who attended the ED with a documented NFB upon physical examination. There was a slight predisposition of female to male ratio of 1.2, as was shown in previous studies. Most of the patients (85%) were aged 2-5 years. A possible explanation for the high incidence rates among 2-year-olds is the development of the pincer grasp milestone14. Right-side insertion was more common (56%), presumably due to right-handed predominance in the population15. In accordance with the literature16, most of the NFB were nonorganic (65%). Organic NFB accounted for 30%, and 5% were batteries and magnets. Most patients who presented with NFB were asymptomatic (82%), regardless of age and gender, as reported in previous studies17.