An Egyptian medical team succeeded in saving the life of an 8-month-old infant after he suffered a sudden cardiac and respiratory arrest due to a complete blockage of his airway by a foreign object.
In the details of the incident, the infant arrived at the reception department of Kafr El-Sheikh General Hospital in a very critical condition, as he was suffering from severe suffocation and cyanosis of the body with the exit of fluids and secretions as a result of a complete blockage of the airway.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the child suffered a sudden cardiac and respiratory arrest. The medical team immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and inserted an endotracheal tube until the pulse and breathing returned weakly before placing him on a ventilator after his initial vital signs stabilized.
Medical examinations revealed that the cause of the suffocation was the presence of a foreign object inside the trachea, which necessitated urgent coordination between the Kafr El-Sheikh Health Affairs Directorate, Kafr El-Sheikh General Hospital, and Al-Obour Hospital to deal with the case as an emergency and critical situation.
Immediately, Dr. Salah El-Zeini, consultant and deputy head of the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, was contacted, and he went to Kafr El-Sheikh General Hospital, where the operating room was prepared and the infant was received as soon as he arrived.
The medical team performed an exploratory and therapeutic bronchoscopy of the trachea and lungs under extremely dangerous conditions, where it was found that there was a "tangerine seed" that caused an obstruction of the airway, choking, and large parts of the lungs becoming saturated with saliva and fluids.
The doctors succeeded in extracting the tangerine seed and suctioning the secretions and fluids from the respiratory tract, gradually raising the oxygen saturation level until it reached 98%.
Following this, the infant was transferred back to the hospital's pediatric care unit to complete treatment and close monitoring after cardiac and respiratory arrest, where his condition showed remarkable improvement. He left the hospital after a week of intensive medical care.
