Choking in children

Jan Divák, MD, PhD, MBA Anesthesia senior consultant, KARIM, University Hospital in Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

Foreign body aspiration in children is an acute, sometimes even an urgent situation faced by doctors of various medical specialties: emergency department doctors, anaesthesiologists, intensivists, ENT specialists or pulmonologists. Their common goal is to solve this acute problem and save the child. However, for the majority of doctors, foreign body aspiration in children does not represent a well-known routine situation. Actually, I think the majority would consider it to be highly stressful. This interactive algorithm created by Akutne.cz is well-arranged and comprehensibly structured in its full length, beginning with basic first aid and professional prehospital emergency care, through hospital admission and foreign body extraction under general anaesthesia to the consecutive care at the ICU. In my opinion, this algorithm is flawlessly crafted, and I highly appreciate that it is possible to learn from your own mistakes in each step. The algorithm surely is beneficial not only for anaesthesiologists, but also for a wide group of doctors, who might come across such a situation.