Magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three cases
Abstract Background Although foreign bodies (FBs) typically pass spontaneously and uneventfully through the digestive tract, a subset of such bodies may become trapped, eventually leading to significant injury. In particular, the ingestion of magnetic materials can cause serious morbidity due to pro...
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doaj-b9a1daca76e94a69bbdfd3dc04ee9ee12020-11-25T00:44:00ZengBMCBMC Surgery1471-24822017-06-011711610.1186/s12893-017-0269-zMagnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three casesJinbeom Cho0Kiyoung Sung1Dosang Lee2Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, College of MedicineDepartment of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, College of MedicineDepartment of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, College of MedicineAbstract Background Although foreign bodies (FBs) typically pass spontaneously and uneventfully through the digestive tract, a subset of such bodies may become trapped, eventually leading to significant injury. In particular, the ingestion of magnetic materials can cause serious morbidity due to proximate attraction through the intestinal wall. Case presentation We recently treated three pediatric patients who had ingested several magnetic foreign materials. None of these patients exhibited any clinical symptoms or signs suggestive of surgical abdomen. Moreover, it was difficult to determine a definite diagnosis and a treatment plan due to limitations in history taking and radiologic examination. After admission to the hospital, these patients underwent surgery for the following reasons: (1) failure to spontaneously pass ingested foreign materials; (2) sudden-onset abdominal pain and vomiting during hospitalization; and (3) gastric perforation incidentally discovered during gastroduodenoscopy. Subsequently, all patients were discharged without complications; however, their conditions might have been fatal without surgery at an appropriate time. Conclusions As the clear identification about the number and characteristics of ingested magnets via radiographic examination or patient history appears to be difficult in pediatric patients, close inpatient observation would be required in any case of undetermined metallic FB ingestion. Patients who are confirmed to have ingested multiple magnets should be regarded as conditional surgical patients, although their clinical conditions are stable.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12893-017-0269-zForeign body ingestionMagnetic foreign bodyPediatricCase report |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Jinbeom Cho Kiyoung Sung Dosang Lee |
spellingShingle |
Jinbeom Cho Kiyoung Sung Dosang Lee Magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three cases BMC Surgery Foreign body ingestion Magnetic foreign body Pediatric Case report |
author_facet |
Jinbeom Cho Kiyoung Sung Dosang Lee |
author_sort |
Jinbeom Cho |
title |
Magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three cases |
title_short |
Magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three cases |
title_full |
Magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three cases |
title_fullStr |
Magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three cases |
title_full_unstemmed |
Magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three cases |
title_sort |
magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: report of three cases |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
BMC Surgery |
issn |
1471-2482 |
publishDate |
2017-06-01 |
description |
Abstract Background Although foreign bodies (FBs) typically pass spontaneously and uneventfully through the digestive tract, a subset of such bodies may become trapped, eventually leading to significant injury. In particular, the ingestion of magnetic materials can cause serious morbidity due to proximate attraction through the intestinal wall. Case presentation We recently treated three pediatric patients who had ingested several magnetic foreign materials. None of these patients exhibited any clinical symptoms or signs suggestive of surgical abdomen. Moreover, it was difficult to determine a definite diagnosis and a treatment plan due to limitations in history taking and radiologic examination. After admission to the hospital, these patients underwent surgery for the following reasons: (1) failure to spontaneously pass ingested foreign materials; (2) sudden-onset abdominal pain and vomiting during hospitalization; and (3) gastric perforation incidentally discovered during gastroduodenoscopy. Subsequently, all patients were discharged without complications; however, their conditions might have been fatal without surgery at an appropriate time. Conclusions As the clear identification about the number and characteristics of ingested magnets via radiographic examination or patient history appears to be difficult in pediatric patients, close inpatient observation would be required in any case of undetermined metallic FB ingestion. Patients who are confirmed to have ingested multiple magnets should be regarded as conditional surgical patients, although their clinical conditions are stable. |
topic |
Foreign body ingestion Magnetic foreign body Pediatric Case report |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12893-017-0269-z |
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