Management of ingested foreign bodies in childhood and review of the literature

The management of ingested foreign bodies in children is not standardised. During a 15-year period, we recorded 325 consecutive paediatric cases of ac cidental ingestion of foreign bodies or with symptoms suggesting oesophagea l obstruction presented at the emergency department or the paediatric gastr oenterology unit. The foreign bodies that had to be removed were, in decrea sing order of frequency: coins, toy parts, jewels, batteries, sharp materia ls such as needles and pins, fish and chicken bones, and "large" amounts of food. Only 54% of the patients had transient symptoms at the moment of ing estion, such as retrosternal pain, cyanosis and dysphagia. A minority (28, 9%) of foreign bodies could be removed with a McGill forceps; 65 (20%) were removed with a magnet probe. Endoscopic removal was performed in 82 cases (25%). In the majority of cases (150, 46%) natural elimination occurred. Th e outcome of all patients was uneventful. Conclusion Recommendations for management of children presenting with a his tory of suspected accidental ingestion of a foreign body for the community paediatrician are proposed.