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Symptoms associated with button batteries injuries in children: An epidemiological review
Elisa Buttazzoni1, Dario Gregori2, Bibiana Paoli3
1Department of Pediatrics, San Daniele del Friuli Hospital, Udine, Italy.
Insights
Button battery ingestion in children often leads to specific symptoms like dysphagia and fever, particularly when the battery is in the esophagus or stomach. Identifying these patterns aids in early diagnosis of foreign body injuries, even when unwitnessed.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Toxicology
- Otolaryngology
Background:
- Button battery (BB) ingestion and inhalation are significant causes of foreign body (FB) injuries in children.
- Early identification of symptoms is crucial for prompt medical intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish an epidemiological framework for symptoms associated with foreign body injuries caused by button batteries in children.
- To correlate specific symptoms with the location of button batteries within the pediatric airway and gastrointestinal tract.
Main Methods:
- Data were collected from the ButtonBatteryDB, a database of pediatric BB injuries.
- A total of 348 BB injury cases were analyzed, including 269 from the "Susy Safe" Registry and 79 from published literature.
- Statistical analysis focused on symptom presentation in relation to BB location.
Main Results:
- The majority of injured children were male, with BBs most frequently found in the mouth/esophagus/stomach and nose.
- Children with BBs in the esophagus/mouth/stomach showed a higher probability of dysphagia (30.19%) and fever with cough (26.42%).
- Simultaneous symptoms like fever and cough (3.72%) were most likely in cases of esophageal/stomach BBs, followed by fever and dysphagia (2.66%).
Conclusions:
- The study identifies unique symptom patterns associated with button battery foreign body injuries in children.
- Recognizing these patterns can facilitate earlier diagnosis and prompt medical response, especially in unwitnessed injury cases.
- This epidemiological framework enhances clinical awareness and management strategies for pediatric button battery exposures.
Objectives:
To provide an epidemiological framework of symptoms related to Foreign Body (FB) injuries due to Button Battery (BB).
Methods:
Data on BB ingestion/inhalation have been obtained from the ButtonBatteryDB. The ButtonBatteryDB is a database collecting information on BB injuries in children (0-18 years of age). Data on 348 BB injures have been derived from the Registry of Foreign Body Injuries "Susy Safe" (269 cases) and from published scientific literature reporting case reports of FB injuries (79 cases).
Results:
Most of injured children were male and BBs were found more often in the mouth/esophagus/stomach (ICD935) and in the nose (ICD932). Analyzing symptoms related to BB located in the esophagus/mouth/stomach, we found that children had higher probability of experiencing dysphagia (30.19%, 95% C.I. 17.83-42.55), fever and cough (26.42%, 95% C.I. 14.55-38.28), compared to the other symptoms. Referring to the probability that symptoms occurred simultaneously, fever and cough are more likely (3.72%, 95% C.I. 1.0-6-43) to jointly showing up in children with BB in mouth/esophagus/stomach (ICD935), followed by fever and dysphagia (2.66%, 95% C.I. 0.36-4.96) and by fever and irritability/crying, fever and drooling, dysphagia and irritability/crying (2.13% C.I. 0.00-4.19, 95% C.I.)
Conclusions:
These findings provide new insight in clinical presentation of BB injuries: the identification of unique patterns of symptoms related to BB injuries is useful to perform an early diagnosis (and to guarantee a prompt medical reaction), also when the injury is un-witnessed.
