Pediatric button battery and small magnet coingestion: two cases with different outcomes

Ingestion of button batteries and ingestion of 2 or more small magnets have both been increasingly recognized as having high potential for injury. Coingestion of a button battery and a small magnet has only rarely been described but has the potential for both ischemic injury due to the tight magnetic adherence and the electric current injury from the button battery. We report 2 cases of button battery and small magnet coingestion; one required surgical repair of an important bowel injury, while the other had a benign course. We discuss the management and role of radiography in these cases and the potential factors to consider when predicting which patients will have serious injury and which will do well.