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Foreign body ingestion during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective single centre review
Naomi Tyne Festa1, Hemanshoo Thakkar1, Richard Hewitt2
1Department of Specialist Neonatal and Paediatric Surgery, Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Trust, London, UK.
Insights
During the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric foreign body ingestions more than doubled, with a significant rise in dangerous button battery and magnet ingestions. Increased awareness is crucial for child safety during public health crises.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric emergency medicine
- Public health
- Toxicology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused significant disruptions to healthcare, home, and educational environments for children.
- An observed increase in pediatric foreign body ingestions prompted further investigation into this phenomenon.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the incidence and nature of foreign body ingestions in children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To compare pediatric foreign body ingestion data during the pandemic with a pre-pandemic control period.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective data collection from a prospective electronic record.
- Inclusion of patients referred for foreign body ingestion between March 2020 and September 2020.
- Comparison with the same six-month period in the prior year as a control group.
Main Results:
- A 2.5-fold increase in pediatric foreign body ingestions was observed during the pandemic period (25 cases) compared to the control period (10 cases).
- A statistically significant increase in the proportion of button battery and magnet ingestions occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic (p=0.04).
Conclusions:
- The findings indicate a heightened risk of foreign body ingestion in children during the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially linked to environmental disruptions.
- The increased incidence of ingestions involving button batteries and magnets raises concerns due to their significant morbidity potential.
- Enhanced awareness regarding the dangers of foreign body ingestion, particularly batteries and magnets, is essential for child safety, especially during periods of restricted activity.
Introduction:
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there were many changes in the provision of healthcare as well as home and educational environments for children. We noted an apparent increase in the number of children presenting with ingested foreign bodies and due to the potential impact of injury from this, further investigated this phenomenon.
Method:
Using a prospective electronic record, data were retrospectively collected for patients referred to our institution with foreign body ingestion from March 2020 to September 2020 and compared with the same period the year prior as a control.
Results:
During the 6-month pandemic period of review, it was observed that 2.5 times more children were referred with foreign body ingestion (n=25) in comparison to the control period (n=10). There was also a significant increase in the proportion of button battery and magnet ingestions during the COVID-19 pandemic (p 0.04).
Conclusion:
These findings raise concerns of both increased frequency of foreign body ingestion during the COVID-19 pandemic and the nature of ingested foreign bodies linked with significant morbidity. This may relate to the disruption of home and work environments and carries implications for ongoing restrictions. Further awareness of the danger of foreign body ingestion, especially batteries and magnets, is necessary (project ID: 2956).
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