MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPHCenter for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio;
The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio; and
Child Injury Prevention Alliance, Columbus, OhioMedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Smith: During the nine-year study period, more than 12,000 children were treated each year in U.S. emergency departments for injuries from choking on food, which equals 34 children each day. Hard candy caused the most choking episodes (15 percent), followed by other candy (13 percent), meat, other than hot dogs (12 percent), and bones (12 percent). These four food types alone accounted for more than half of all the choking episodes in the study.
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