Management of Foreign Body Ingestions and Food Impactions: Advice for General Practitioners

Foreign body ingestions and esophageal food impactions are common in emergency and general medicine settings. Whereas most cases resolve spontaneously, prompt evaluation and treatment are paramount in preventing morbidity and death. Foreign body ingestion occurs across all age groups, with higher risk in children and certain adult populations. Esophageal food impaction, largely due to obstruction of the esophagus by food boluses, has an estimated annual incidence of 13 per 100,000 person-years. Endoscopy is the preferred intervention for both foreign body ingestion and esophageal food impaction, with imaging aiding in localization, particularly for sharp objects or suspected perforations. Given the strong association of esophageal food impaction with eosinophilic esophagitis, esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsy is recommended for these cases, particularly in patients with recurrent impactions.