Two Year Old With Water Bead Ingestion

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Microbead Implantation in the Zebrafish Embryo
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Microbead Implantation in the Zebrafish Embryo

Published on: July 30, 2015

Jami Jackson1, Kimberly A Randell, Jane F Knapp

  • 1From the Children's Mercy Hospital and Clinics, Kansas City, MO.

Pediatric Emergency Care
|August 5, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Superabsorbent water beads can cause pediatric intestinal obstruction. Nonsurgical management with whole bowel irrigation successfully treated an asymptomatic child who ingested many beads, offering a new approach.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Foreign body ingestion is frequent in children.
  • Superabsorbent water beads pose a risk for intestinal obstruction, as seen in prior surgical cases.
  • Management of multiple water bead ingestion is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the nonsurgical management of a child with multiple superabsorbent water bead ingestion.
  • To highlight whole bowel irrigation as a potential treatment for asymptomatic cases.

Main Methods:

  • A case report of an asymptomatic child ingesting approximately 100 superabsorbent water beads.
  • Admission for observation and whole bowel irrigation.

Main Results:

  • The child remained asymptomatic throughout the management.
  • Whole bowel irrigation was successfully performed without complications.
  • This represents the first reported case of whole bowel irrigation for multiple superabsorbent water bead ingestion in an asymptomatic child.

Conclusions:

  • Whole bowel irrigation can be a safe and effective nonsurgical option for asymptomatic pediatric patients with significant superabsorbent water bead ingestion.
  • This approach may prevent the need for surgical intervention in select cases.

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