Foreign Objects in Korean Prisoners

Abstract

Background Foreign objects in the gastrointestinal tract are usually the result of accidental swallowing. Yet foreign object ingestion is often seen in prisoners who mainly desire to leave prison. We report here on a series of 33 Korean prisoners with foreign object ingestion and they were treated endoscopically or surgically. Methods We reviewed the medical records of 33 Korean prisoners (52 episodes) who were admitted due to ingestion of foreign objects between January 1998 and June 2004 to Konyang University Hospital and Gyeongsang National University Hospital. Results All the patients were male with a mean age of 35 years. The most common duration from ingestion to the visit to the ER was within 24 hours (25/52 episodes). Most of the foreign objects were located in the esophagus (42.3%) and stomach (42.3%). The number of foreign objects was one in 28 episodes, two in 12 episodes and three or more in twelve episodes. The most common foreign objects were metal wires (26/52 episodes). The mean size of the foreign objects was 11.9 centimeters long. Successful endoscopic treatment was performed in most patients (46/52 episodes, 88.5%). The remaining six cases were treated surgically. Conclusions The foreign objects in prisoners were a variety of unusual things because of the prison environment, and endoscopy is a mainstay of treatment for foreign object removal in Korean prisoners.

Predictors of Recurrent Ingestion of Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies

“…In a small study of 36 patients, O'Sullivan et al (7) demonstrated that certain subgroups, such as prisoners and those with psychiatric illness, had a higher frequency of foreign body ingestion. Lee et al (12) also reported on the unusual, complex ingestions in a prison population. More recently, Palta et al (13) examined a group of patients from an urban health care setting, with almost all intentional ingestions in 85% of whom had a psychiatric disease.…”

Factors associated with development of complications after endoscopic foreign body removal

“…Another study involving prisoners who ingested foreign body reported an even higher complication rate of 11.5%. [15]…”

Gastric Foreign Bodies in Prison Inmates

“…8 While comparing to studies from other countries, mobile phone ingestion is common in our setup. [9][10][11] The prisoners used to vomit these drug packets rather than letting them pass out in the stool. It should be noted that these packets were intentionally made of relatively large size by the packers, so that they can stay in the stomach and can be vomited back.…”