Foreign body ingestion in children attending Rapareen Teaching Hospital: a single-centre experience (original) (raw)

Foreign body ingestion in children

Nursing times

Foreign body (FB) ingestion in children is common and most children are observed to be between 6 months and 3 years of age. Although most FBs in the gastrointestinal tract pass spontaneously without complications, endoscopic or surgical removal may be required in a few children. Thus, FB ingestion presents a significant clinical difficulty in pediatric gastroenterological practice. Parameters that need to be considered regarding the timing of endoscopic removal of ingested FBs in children are the children's age or body weight, the clinical presentation, time lapse since ingestion, time of last meal, type as well as size and shape of the FB, and its current location in the gastrointestinal tract. Esophageal button batteries require emergency removal regardless of the presence of symptoms because they can cause serious complications. Coins, magnets, or sharp FBs in the esophagus should be removed within 2 hours in symptomatic and within 24 hours in asymptomatic children. Among those presenting with a single or multiple magnets and a metallic FB that have advanced beyond the stomach, symptomatic children need a consultation with a pediatric surgeon for surgery, and asymptomatic children may be followed with serial X-rays to assess progression. Sharp or pointed, and long or large and wide FBs located in the esophagus or stomach require endoscopic removal.

Foreign Bodies Ingestion in Children: Experience of 61 Cases in a Pediatric Gastroenterology Unit from Romania

Gastroenterology Research and Practice, 2016

The ingestion of foreign bodies is a worldwide pediatric pathology. We assessed the clinical, endoscopic, and therapeutic aspects of this condition in a pediatric gastroenterology unit. We reviewed 61 patients (median age of 3.25 ± 4.7 years). The most frequently ingested objects were coins (26.23%), unidentified metal objects (13.11%), bones (8.19%), batteries, and buttons (6.55%). The clinical features we encountered included abdominal pain (55.73%), vomiting (34.42%), and asymptomatic children (29.5%). Routine X-ray examination enabled finding the foreign body in 42 of the cases. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed within 24–72 hours. 25 cases resulted in a negative endoscopy (40.98%), 19 objects (31.14%) were removed using a polypectomy snare, and extraction failure occurred in 17 patients (27.86%). 28 foreign bodies were passed without incidents; in 14 cases, the swallowed objects were never found. In one case, a battery was stuck in the esophageal folds and led to trac...

Ingested foreign bodies causing complications and requiring hospitalization in European children: results from the ESFBI study

Pediatrics …, 2010

OBJECTIVE: In the young children, particularly those aged from 1 to 3 years, aerodigestive tract foreign bodies (FB) are a common pediatric problem. The aim of this work is to characterize the risk of complications and prolonged hospitalization due to foreign bodies (FB) in the upper digestive tract in terms of the characteristics of the injured patients (age, gender), typology and features of the FBs, the circumstances of the accident and the hospitalization's details. METHODS: A retrospective study in 19 Hospitals of corresponding 19 European countries was realized on 2103 children aged 0-14. In 186 cases, it was reported an injury due to the presence of a FB in the mouth, esophagus and stomach (ICD935). RESULTS: Complications arose in 14 cases and hospitalization was required in 164 cases. No deaths were observed. A higher incidence of hospitalization in males (61%) was observed. Median age for children who experienced complications was 2 years old. The most common FB removal technique was esophagoscopy. In the majority of the cases, children were treated by ENT Department. The most common FBs were nuts, seeds, berries, corn and beas: in general, small, round crunchy foods pose a risk of choking. CONCLUSION: Coins, batteries and fish bones among food were the most common type of FB. Since recent development of technology has accelerated broad use of disk-type batteries, parents should be aware of this hazard, and an educational campaign for public education for this serious problem might be advisable.

Foreign Body Ingestion in Pediatrics: Distribution, Management and Complications

Medicina, 2019

Background and Objectives: Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a common problem in children, causing serious complications. This study aimed to identify the distribution of types and locations of these foreign bodies and create Chiang Mai University (CMU) Guidelines. Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted. All patients under 15 years old with foreign body ingestion (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems; ICD-10 codes T18) treated in CMU Hospital from January 2006 to December 2017 were included. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The guidelines were created, which paralleled the standard guidelines. Results: In total, 194 episodes of FB ingestion were recorded. These included 53.6% males and 46.4% females with a median age of 43.5 months. A history of foreign body ingestion complaints occurred in 77.8% of cases. Presentation was divided into asymptomatic (44.3%) and symptomatic (55.7%). The most common symptom was vomiting (23.2%). In the majority of cases, foreign bodies were located in the esophagus (37%). The most common type of foreign body was a coin (41.2%). Management included spontaneous passing (60.3%), endoscopy (35.6%), and others (3.1%). Complications before treatment were recorded in 9.3% of cases and after treatment in 2.1% of cases. Conclusions: Foreign body ingestion is common among children younger than four years old. Coins are the most common foreign body found, and the esophagus is the most common location. We recommend our created CMU Guidelines for management.

Foreign body ingestion in children presenting to a tertiary paediatric centre in South Africa: A retrospective analysis focusing on battery ingestion

PubMed, 2020

Background: Ingestion of foreign bodies remains a frequent reason for presentation to paediatric emergency departments worldwide. Among the variety of objects ingested, button batteries are particularly harmful owing to their electrochemical properties, which can cause extensive injuries if not diagnosed and treated rapidly. International trends show an increasing incidence of button battery ingestion, leading to concern that this pattern may be occurring in South Africa. Limited local data on paediatric foreign body ingestion have been published. Objectives: To assess battery ingestion rates in a tertiary paediatric hospital. We hypothesised that the incidence has increased, in keeping with international trends. Secondary objectives included describing admission rates, requirements for anaesthesia and surgery, and promoting awareness of the problems associated with battery ingestion. Methods: We performed a retrospective, descriptive analysis of the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital trauma database, including all children under 13 years of age seen between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015 with suspected ingestion of a foreign body. The ward admissions database was then examined to find additional cases in which children were admitted directly. After exclusion of duplicate records, cases were classified by type of foreign body, management, requirement for admission, anaesthesia and surgery. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data in comparison with previous studies published from this database. Results: Patient age and gender patterns matched the literature, with a peak incidence in children under 2 years of age. Over the 6-year period, 180 patients presented with food foreign bodies, whereas 497 objects were classified as non-food. After exclusion of misdiagnosed cases, the remaining 462 objects were dominated by coins (44.2%). Batteries were the causative agent in 4.8% (22/462). Although the subtypes of batteries were not reliably recorded, button batteries accounted for at least 64% (14/22). Most children who ingested batteries presented early, but more required admission, anaesthesia and surgery than children who ingested other forms of foreign body. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the local incidence of button battery ingestion may be increasing, although data are still limited.Admission, anaesthesia and surgery rates for batteries were higher in this cohort than for all other foreign bodies. As button batteries can mimic coins, with much more dire consequences on ingestion, our ability to expedite diagnosis and management hinges on a high index of suspicion. It is imperative to increase awareness among healthcare workers and parents.

Management of ingested foreign bodies in childhood—response

European Journal of Emergency Medicine, 1999

The management of foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract is not standardized. Retrospectively, we analysed the management of 174 cases of accidental ingestion of foreign bodies in children. No child had ingested more than one foreign object. The ingested foreign bodies were: coins, toy parts, jewels, batteries, 'sharp' materials such as needles and pins, fish and chicken bone, and 'large' amounts of food. Of the patients 51% had transient symptoms at the moment of ingestion, such as retrosternal pain, cyanosis and dysphasia. Attempts to extract the foreign body either by a magnet tube, endoscopy or McGill forceps was performed in 83 patients. The majority of the extracted foreign bodies were batteries and sharp materials. The outcome of all the patients was excellent. No complications were observed.

Insidious Threat of Children: Esophageal Foreign Body Ingestion

Journal of Academic Emergency Medicine, 2014

Objective: Foreign body ingestion commonly occurs in children. Objects that may not easily pass the esophagus cause severe complications, such as impaction, perforation, and obstruction. Different methods are used for their removal. We aimed retrospectively to analyze the cases in which we performed emergent esophagoscopy. Material and Methods: Between 2002 and 2013, 732 children with suspicion of foreign body ingestion were studied. Of them, 720 underwent emergency intervention. Objects located at the first narrowing of the esophagus were removed under sedation, and the remaining objects were taken out under general anesthesia with the aid of rigid esophagoscopy. Results: The mean age of the children was 3.9 years (range 1 month and 16 years). Coins in 648 cases and a variety of objects, opaque and non-opaque, were removed under direct vision. Urgent intervention was carried out in 6 cases with dyspnea, in 2 delayed cases, and in 3 patients with esophageal perforation. Successful removal was performed in 69 patients (95.8%). Perforation occurred in 3 cases. Removal was succeeded within surgery in 2 cases (2.7%). One patient died. Conclusion: A delay in esophageal body ingestion increases the complication rate. Round batteries and objects that are non-oval, long, large, and spiky should be dealt with great attention.

Initial Experiences in Treatment of Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies in Children

Facta Universitatis, Series: Medicine and Biology, 2018

We performed a retrospective analysis of all records of children with ingested foreign bodies presented to Clinical Center of Niš Pediatric Clinic and Pediatric Surgery and Orthopedics Clinic in the period from January 2014 to June 2017. The most commonly detected foreign bodies were: metal coins (7) followed by hairclips (2), metal key (1), trichobezoar (1) magnets (1) button battery (1) and zipper puller (1). Regarding anatomical location, foreign bodies were most frequently found in stomach (in 11 patients) followed by esophagus (in 2 patients) and jejunum (in 1 patient). In the majority of our patients (7) foreign bodies passed out of gastrointestinal tract spontaneously. Endoscopic foreign body removal was performed in 5 cases while surgery as a sole therapeutic action was done in 1 patient. In one child multiple magnets were removed from the stomach performing both endoscopic and surgical interventions. Teamwork of a gastroenterologist and a surgeon is crucial for optimizing t...