Management of intravesical self-inflicted sharp objects in children: 10-year single-center experience

Intravesical foreign bodies (FBs) are rare and have interesting pathology for urologists. There has been an increase in reports of intravesical FBs in the last few decades, but they are still considered to be rare in children, especially young girls. Here we present our experience in the assessment and management of intravesical self-inserted sharp objects in children.

We reviewed the records of children with self-introduced intravesical FBs admitted to our hospital during the last 10 years. Twenty-four cases were included in this study (20 girls and 4 boys). The presenting symptoms and methods of diagnosis and treatment were reviewed.

The ages of the patients ranged from 4 to 12 years. In all cases, foreign bodies were self-inserted. All patients were subjected to KUB (kidney, ureter, bladder radiograph) and abdominal ultrasonography. Based on the KUB findings, the FBs in girls were found to be metal pins in 12, a hair clip in four, and a wooden pencil in three (Figure). In boys, a coiled electric wire was found in three, with a urinary calculus formed over one of them. There were small metallic objects in two cases (1 boy and 1 girl). Endoscopic removal of FBs was done successfully in 19 cases (18 girls and 1 boy), and open cystostomy was performed in four cases (3 boys and 1 girl).

Intravesical FBs are important considerations in the differential diagnosis of pathological lower urinary tract symptoms. They represent significant challenges to urologists. Among children, the reasons for self-insertion of FBs might reflect psychiatric disorders. Routine psychiatric evaluations should be offered to all patients with intentional FB insertion to avoid missing any underlying psychiatric disorders. In our study, psychiatric evaluations have been advised for all the affected children and their parents. Self-inserted FBs are commonly seen in adults and are rarely encountered in children. To our knowledge, this is the largest reported series of children with self-inflicted intravesical FBs. In addition, all of the FBs in this study had one or more sharp edges that made their endoscopic extraction more difficult without causing bladder or urethral damage. In children, removal of intravesical FBs represents a great challenge, as the size of the pediatric urethra may hinder safe transurethral removal. Endoscopic handling of intravesical FBs is mostly unsuccessful in boys because of the long and narrow urethra, and open cystostomy might be the treatment of choice to save the urethra. In contrast, the short female urethra renders the endoscopic removal of intravesical FBs more successful. In this study, endoscopic removal of FBs was done successfully in 19 cases (18 girls and 1 boy), and open cystostomy was performed in four cases (3 boys and 1 girl).

Although FBs in the urinary tract of children are very rare, they need to be considered during any evaluation of pathological lower urinary tract symptoms. Endoscopic management is feasible for most of these patients. The size, number, nature of foreign bodies, and any associated urinary calculi determine the treatment modality.