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Foreign body ingestion in children attending Rapareen Teaching Hospital: a single-centre experience
1Pediatric Department, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq.
Insights
Button battery ingestion is a common pediatric emergency, often requiring endoscopic removal from the esophagus. This study highlights management patterns and outcomes for foreign body ingestion in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Emergency Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Foreign body ingestion is a significant pediatric health issue.
- Early intervention is crucial to prevent severe complications and mortality.
- Understanding ingestion patterns aids in effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the patterns of foreign body ingestion in children.
- To evaluate management strategies and outcomes based on foreign body characteristics.
- To identify risk factors and associations in pediatric foreign body ingestion.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of pediatric patients presenting with foreign body ingestion.
- Data collected from March 2019 to January 2023 at Rapareen Teaching Hospital for Paediatrics.
- Statistical analysis using SPSS to identify significant associations.
Main Results:
- Fifty-four pediatric patients were included, with a median age of 4 years.
- Disc batteries (27.8%) and coins (20.4%) were the most common ingested foreign bodies.
- Esophageal foreign bodies were most frequent; 66.7% were removed endoscopically, with 4 requiring surgery.
Conclusions:
- Button batteries are the most frequent foreign body ingested by children.
- The esophagus is the most common location for ingested foreign bodies.
- Endoscopic retrieval is the primary management strategy for esophageal foreign bodies.
Introduction:
Ingestion of foreign bodies is a significant problem among children, which necessitates early intervention and may lead to serious morbidity and even mortality.
Aim:
To estimate the pattern of foreign body ingestion among children and identify the role of management and its outcomes in relation to the type and site of foreign bodies.
Material And Methods:
Our study was carried out on patients who attended the Emergency Department of the Rapareen Teaching Hospital for Paediatrics in Erbil city and were referred to the Paediatric Gastroenterology Unit during between March 2019 and January 2023. All clinical and demographic data were entered and then analysed using SPSS.
Results:
Fifty-four patients visited or were admitted to the Rapareen Hospital Emergency Department with a history of ingestion of foreign bodies, with a median age of 4 years (mean age: 4.14 ±2.15 years) and a nearly equal male-to-female ratio (1.16 : 1). Most of the foreign bodies were radiopaque, and the majority were located in the oesophagus at the time of initial presentation. Disc batteries (27.8%) were the commonest foreign body, followed by coins (20.4%), of which 66.7% were retrieved endoscopically, while 4 patients needed surgical intervention. Cross-tabulation reveals a significant association between the site of materials and the early presentation, type of object, and outcome. Also, a significant association was established between the type of foreign body and gender, age, time of presentation, and outcome.
Conclusions:
The button battery was the most common foreign body ingested among the children, and the majority were located in the oesophagus and extracted by endoscopy.
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