Injuries due to foreign body ingestion and insertion in children: 10 years of experience at a single institution

Abstract

Aim: Foreign body (FB) injuries represent a severe public health problem during childhood. The aim of this study was to report our experience with patients with injuries due to FB ingestion and insertion who were treated surgically at our institution. Methods: A total of 78 paediatric patients who were hospitalised for FB injuries were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The series was composed of 27 males and 51 females, with a median age of 3.6 years. The cases included 35 cases of FB ingestion and 43 cases of FB insertion, including 40 cases with a vaginal insertion, 2 cases with a rectal insertion and 1 case with a urethra insertion. Intestinal perforation (n = 26) was a more common complication than intestinal obstruction (n = 9) in patients who had ingested a FB. The main clinical symptom was persistent vaginal discharge, followed by vaginal bleeding for patients with a vaginal FB insertion. Exploratory laparotomy was performed on 36 patients, while a laparoscopic approach was employed in 1 patient. Forty patients underwent hysteroscopy and one patient underwent cystotomy to remove the FB. All FBs were successfully removed. Of the 78 FBs recovered, 26 were food objects, while non-food objects were found in 52 patients. All patients recovered well, except one patient with an intestinal obstruction from adhesions that occurred approximately 1 month after discharge. Conclusions: Early recognition of FB injuries and appropriate management can significantly reduce complications. Surgical removal of a FB can be safe and effective, and relatively better outcomes can be achieved.What is already known on this topic 1 Foreign body (FB) injuries represent a severe public health problem during childhood. 2 Some FB injuries have an unclear history and non-specific clinical presentation, resulting in a delay in diagnosis.

Surgical Management In Accidental Ingestion of Jujube Pits in Children

“…The majority of ingested FBs passed spontaneously through the gastrointestinal tract without causing injury. However, some can cause serious complications which might require surgical intervention [4]. In our study, Abdominal pain, vomiting and paroxysmal crying were the common symptoms in the rst group which similar to other pediatric digestive diseases like appendicitis, intussusception and mesenteric lymphadenitis.…”

“…Jujubes, harvest in fall, are major agricultural crops in Xinjiang, mainland of China [3].Jujube pits, spindle-shaped objects with sharp ends, hard to pass through intestinal tract during peristalsis and discharge with feces when impaction happens. Unlike adults, children are not able to distinguish edible objects from non-edible objects and have poor swallowing coordination [4]. As a fruit often eaten in daily life, most of the parents underestimate the hazards of jujube pits.…”

Managing Pediatric Foreign Body Ingestions

“…9,17 However, several studies have suggested that social, economic, and cultural environments in which the child lives impact the prevalently ingested FB type. 2,9,10,[14][15][16][17] For instance, the most frequently ingested FBs in Western countries are coins, whereas fish bones are the most prevalent FBs in Asian countries, probably because of the higher consumption of fish without prior removal of bones. In a retrospective study in Iran, 7 coin ingestion accounted for only 16% of all cases, which was attributed to the less common use of coins as currency because of financial policies.…”

Chocolate Stick Causing Concealed Intestinal Perforation with no Signs of Peritonitis in a Child: A Case Report

“…Along with pneumoperitoneum these injuries also causes peritonitis due to leakage of intestinal contents and this sign can be very easily elicited during clinical examination. Shao F et al in 2020 in his study observed that out of 35 children who ingested foreign body, 26 of them developed intestinal perforation and 9 of them presented with intestinal obstruction [7] . They also concluded that early identification of such cases can help in prevention of developing complication also early surgical intervention and removal of foreign body results in better outcome.…”