J Korean Soc Emerg Med.
2010 Feb;21(1):88-93.
Ingested Gastrointestinal Foreign Body in Children: Retrospective Review in a Pediatric Emergency Department
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Korea. birdbeak@naver.com
Abstract
- PURPOSE
Foreign body ingestion is a commonly encountered problem in the pediatric emergency department (ED). This retrospective review aimed to investigate data gathered on the presentation and management of foreign body ingestions in children presented to ED.
METHODS
This is a retrospective review of patients presented to the Seoul National University Hospital Pediatric ED between January 2005 and May 2009. The hospital electronic medical record database was used to identify children less than 15 years of age who presented with foreign body ingestion.
RESULTS
Two hundred and fifteen children were reviewed for this study. The age of the patients ranged from 0 months to 14 years and the median age was 28 months. The most common foreign body ingested was coins (23.3%). At the time of presentation, most of the foreign bodies were located in the stomach (38.6%). One hundred and thirty four patients (62.3%) were managed expectantly and received no other treatment. At endoscopic examination, the foreign body was visible in seventy-one patients and removal was successful in sixty-nine patients (success rate 97.2%). Two patients required surgical removal of the ingested foreign body. One hundred patients (46.5%) were referred to our pediatric ED from other institutions, mostly for endoscopy. Two patients developed significant complications as a result of the ingestion and management of the foreign body.
CONCLUSION
Most children presented with ingested foreign body followed an uneventful course and complications following management were rare. Primary and emergency physicians should be familiar with the recommended guidelines in the management of foreign body ingestion in children.
