Choking Among Infants and Young Children

This retrospective study aims to determine the epidemiological features of deaths caused by chocking among infants in one of the general teaching hospitals in Jordan with a focus on weaning practices and its relation to sucking as major factors underlying the mechanism of choking in infants and young children. The study utilized a retrospective design to review the records of forensic cases due to a foreign body aspiration examined at the forensic department at the Jordan University Hospital. A total of 27 cases of choking in the pediatric age group were retrieved from the reports of the autopsy cases dissected. All cases of children who died due to chocking by foreign bodies were under 11 years old. Choking by food materials constituted (44.4%) of cases under 3 years of age while choking by non-food material was less prevalent under 3 years of age, comprising 18.5% of the cases. Health care personnel and parents need to be aware that the introduction of solid food, unlike exclusive breast or formula-milk feeding, can have serious consequences if occurring in inappropriate timing or consistency during early childhood physical and functional development. Parents need to be educated regarding the appropriate timing and process of weaning.