Foreign body ingestion: Is intervention always a necessity?

Intentional and accidental foreign body ingestion are commonly encountered in clinical practice. In adults, intentional foreign body ingestion is frequently observed among individuals with psychiatric disorders and prisoners. Controversies exist regarding the management of sharp or pointed objects. We contribute to this existing controversy by presenting a case of a 43-year-old male who accidently ingested a metallic screw and was managed successfully through endoscopic retrieval.

We discuss a case of a 43-year-old male presented to our emergency department after accidently swallowing a metallic screw, 1 h and a half prior to his presentation. He was initially asymptomatic then started to complain of vague abdominal symptoms. X-rays of the chest and abdomen demonstrated the presence of a metallic screw at the mid-abdomen. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen then confirmed its presence within the gastric lumen, with no evidence of gastric or bowel perforation. The patient was managed via esophagogastroduodenoscopy in which the ingested screw was extracted. He was discharged after 24 hours in a good condition.

A limited number of epidemiological studies have shed light on the prevalence and incidence of foreign body ingestion among adult individuals. Probability of spontaneous passage depends on several factors including the size, shape and composition of the impacted item, as well as the age of patient and duration of ingestion prior to presentation.

Considering the variation of ingested objects and the availability of several therapeutic approaches, a patient-tailored management plan should always be established.