Rigid esophagoscopy is relatively safe and useful procedure in trained hands for removal of EFBs. Management of long-standing EFBs, dentures, and other sharp objects requires the skills of the most experienced members of the surgical team for a successful outcome. Open surgical treatment is unavoidable in cases of irretrievable esophageal FBs or in the presence of esophageal perforation.

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Background: Childhood poisoning is a common but avoidable problem in developing countries such as Nigeria. Objectives:To determine the pattern of childhood poisoning in the Warri Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Method:The case notes of all the children seen at Central Hospital Warri, the reference base for the region and GN Children Clinic the pioneer children's hospital in the region. This is a review of cases over a ten year period, from 2000 to 2009. The information obtained was analysed.Results: A total of 156 children aged 0-16 years diagnosed with poisoning were seen at the central hospital in Warri and at the GN Children's Clinic which is also in Warri over a 10 year period from 2000 to 2009 under review. The male to female ratio is 2:1, and 75% of the children were aged 5 years or less. Most of the patients were from the low socio-economic class. Most of the poisoning was unintentional and occurred through ingestion (97.6%). Kerosene was the major substance leading to poisoning (56.6%). Alcohol ranked second in the study. Poisoning from drugs was the third most common source of poisoning and in that category most of the indices were in the highest income group. Most of the patients presented with mild symptoms and the mortality rate was 7%. Conclusion:Kerosine was found to be the most common source of poisoning. Most of the poisoning was unintensional and deaths cause by this form of poisoning can be prevented with proper health education and effective enactment of laws that will reduce the incidence of childhood poisoning.

Background: Noise induced hearing loss is a well known recognized hazard in factory workers. This is due to the fact that the level of noise in most factories exceed the WHO acceptable limits. This was an 8 year follow up study on glass factory workers to determine the effect of noise on their hearing status over that period. Materials and Methods: Audiometry was carried out on the factory workers using a diagnostic audiometer. This was repeated after 8 years. All the workers had their ears examined prior to Audiometry which was done in a quiet area in the factory clinic. Thereafter data was collected and analysed. Results: The subsequent screening showed that all the workers had increased threshold of hearing and the Prevalence rate of hearing impairment had increased from 9.1% to 40.8%. All workers admitted to intermittent use of personal protective devices (ear muffs/ear plugs) despite being counselled on their use 8 years earlier. Conclusion: Hearing Conservation measures should be instituted in factories. Pre-employment screening should be mandatory as well as annual audiological screening and the labour laws should be strengthened to ensure adequate compliance by industries.

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