Foreign bodies contribute to more than half a million emergency department visits each year. 1 Grill-cleaning wire brush bristle is an infrequently identified foreign body with less than 25 published cases. 2 Grill-cleaning brushes are common consumer products. Their thin malleable bristles can break off easily and may be difficult to identify when stuck on food. 3 The sharp metallic bristles can embed into the tissues, making direct and radiographic visualization difficult. We present 2 recent cases and review prior cases of wire brush bristles in the head/neck region available on PubMed with a focus on the diagnostic approach.
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