Retrospective Analysis of Pediatric Patients with Multiple Rare-Earth Magnet Ingestion: A Single-Center Experience from China.

Abstract

Background The aim of this study was to characterize patients with multiple rare-earth magnet ingestion in a single-pediatric medical center, reveal the harm of rare-earth magnets foreign bodies in digestive tract, and develop a clinical management algorithm. Methods This was a retrospective review of patients with rare-earth magnets foreign bodies in digestive tract admitted to a university-affiliated pediatric medical center in China, between January 2016 to December 2019, with a subset of medical data including clinical symptoms, signs, treatments and outcomes. Results A total of 51 cases were included in this study, including 36(70.6%) males and 15(29.4%) females. The magnets were passed naturally in 24(47.1%) patients and removed by intervention in 27(52.9%) patients, including five(9.8%) cases by endoscopy and 22(43.1%) cases by surgery. 22(43.1%) cases had gastrointestinal obstruction, perforation, and fistula. Compared with the non-surgical group, the proportion of males in the surgical group was higher (21/23 vs 15/28, p=0.004), and the visiting time to hospital was longer (80(72) vs 26(5), hours, p=0.008). Conclusions The rate of surgical intervention is high in multiple rare-earth digestion cases and the consequences are serious, and a more efficient management algorithm for these cases should be needed. A policy for strictly restricted or prohibited the sale of the toys with multiple rare-earth magnets needed to put into the agenda. Trial registration The study will be retrospectively registered.