Foreign-body ingestion occurs frequently in childhood. The diagnosis of ing
estion is usually made by plain film radiography. Ultrasound is not routine
ly used in the investigation of gastric foreign bodies because of the limit
ations imposed by intestinal gas. This drawback can be overcome by distendi
ng the stomach with an anechoic liquid, which acts as an acoustic window. I
n a child who had ingested a coin, US performed after drinking tea was diag
nostic and showed a hyperechoic image with an acoustic shadow inside the st
omach. We believe that US is an appropriate technique for follow-up of gast
ric foreign bodies.