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Patterns and Complications of Ingested Foreign Bodies in Omani Children
Tawfiq Taki Al Lawati1, Reem Al Marhoobi2
1Department of Child Health, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
Insights
Foreign body ingestion is common in Omani toddlers, with coins and disc batteries being frequent culprits. While serious complications are infrequent, vigilance is crucial.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Public Health
- Emergency Medicine
Background:
- Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a significant concern in pediatric populations.
- Understanding the epidemiology and outcomes of FB ingestion is vital for prevention and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence and types of foreign body ingestions in children.
- To analyze the complications associated with foreign body ingestion.
- To evaluate the role of endoscopy in managing these cases.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of medical records for children (≤13 years) with foreign body ingestion.
- Exclusion of cases involving FBs in the mouth/airway, esophageal food impaction, and caustic ingestion.
- Data collection on demographics, FB type, location, endoscopic findings, and complications.
Main Results:
- 385 children were included, with males (58.4%) predominantly affected; 50.9% were under three years old.
- Coins (41.3%) and disc batteries (12.2%) were the most common ingested items.
- Overall complication rate was 5.2%, with clinically significant complications at 3.6%; no mortality was reported.
Conclusions:
- Foreign body ingestion is prevalent among Omani toddlers, with coins and disc batteries posing the highest risk.
- Endoscopic intervention is required in a minority of cases, and significant complications are relatively low.
- Despite low complication rates, ingested foreign bodies necessitate serious attention and proactive family vigilance.
Objectives:
We sought to describe the frequency of encounters and complications of foreign body (FB) ingestion in children seen at Royal Hospital, Oman.
Methods:
Medical records of all children (≤ 13 years) who presented to Royal Hospital between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2014 diagnosed with FB ingestion were reviewed. Children with FBs in their mouth or airway, with esophageal food impaction, and caustic ingestion were excluded from the analysis. Parameters including age, sex, type of FB, anatomical location of the FB on X-ray, endoscopic findings, and all complications were reviewed.
Results:
Of the 585 children diagnosed with FB ingestion, 385 were included in the study; 58.4% were males and 41.6% were females giving a male to female ratio of 1.4:1.0. Half (50.9%) of the children were less than three years old. Coins were the most frequently ingested objects (41.3%) followed by disc batteries (12.2%). Sixty-three patients (16.3%) required urgent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). EGD was performed mainly for coins (44.4%) followed by disc batteries (14.3%) in the esophagus or stomach. The complication rate was 5.2% in total, and 3.6% for clinically significant complications. We had no mortality cases.
Conclusions:
FB ingestion is common in toddlers in Oman. Coins and disc batteries are most commonly ingested calling for strict family vigilance. Endoscopy is done in a small number of children and clinically significant complications, in general, are low. However, these findings should not lead to a false sense of security, and ingested FBs should always be taken seriously.
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