Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, BMJ, Emergency Care, Pediatrics / 21.12.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Jamie G Cooper Consultant in Emergency Medicine Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Aberdeen UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? [caption id="attachment_30632" align="alignleft" width="200"]MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jamie Cooper Consultant in Emergency Medicine Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Aberdeen MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Choking in children can be fatal and regularly grapes can be the cause. We believe that public awareness of the choking hazard posed by grapes (and other similarly shaped foods, such as cherry tomatoes) is not wide spread. By publishing this article we aimed to highlight the problem to health professionals who look after children and also to the public at large in an attempt to reduce the number of future episodes. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: With parental consent we published the cases of three small children who suffered choking episodes as a result of whole grapes, two of whom died as a result. In each case it was not possible to dislodge the grape using first aid techniques. MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: Small children are at risk from choking because they have smaller airways, reduced ability to chew foods, underdeveloped swallowing coordination and can be easily distracted when eating. Grapes are a healthy and popular snack but are ideally suited to cause airway obstruction, particularly if inhaled whole. Small children (up to 5 years) should always be supervised by adults while eating; and grapes should be halved, or ideally quartered, before consumption. We hope that by drawing attention to this issue that consideration will be given at a political level to wider dissemination of this information so as to prevent further occurrences. MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community. Citation: BMJ The choking hazard of grapes: a plea for awareness Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions. More Medical Research Interviews on MedicalResearch.com Grapes
Wikipedia image[/caption] Response: Choking in children can be fatal and regularly grapes can be the cause.  We believe that public awareness of the choking hazard posed by grapes (and other similarly shaped foods, such as cherry tomatoes) is not wide spread.  By publishing this article we aimed to highlight the problem to health professionals who look after children and also to the public at large in an attempt to reduce the number of future episodes.
Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 30.07.2013

Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH Center 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 Interview with: Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH
Center 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, Ohio
MedicalResearch.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.