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 Researchers examined data on 29,893 kids under six years old who
were treated in emergency rooms nationwide for "foreign object
ingestion" between 1995 and 2015. On the basis of those cases,
researchers estimated that 759,074 young children visited the ER for
foreign object injection during this two-decade timespan.
Over that same period, the annual rate of ER visits for these cases
surged almost 92 percent, from 9.4 to 17.9 incidents for every
10,000 children, researchers report in Pediatrics.
"The sheer number of these injuries is cause for concern," said lead
study author Dr. Danielle Orsagh-Yentis of Nationwide Children's
Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
"While coins were the most frequently swallowed object, batteries
are of particular risk because they can do considerable damage when
ingested," Orsagh-Yentis said by email.
Nine in ten kids treated in emergency rooms for swallowing foreign
objects were treated and released without being admitted to the
hospital, the study found.
Coins accounted for 62 percent of cases in the ERs, followed by toys
at about 10 percent. Jewelry and batteries each accounted for
another seven percent of cases.
Across all age groups, pennies accounted for two-thirds of coin
ingestions. Kids who swallowed coins were more likely to be
hospitalized than children who ingested other objects - and quarters
led to more hospitalizations than smaller coins.
Button batteries - the diminutive size often used in watches and
hearing aids - accounted for 86 percent of all cases when children
swallowed batteries.
Other objects kids swallowed included nails, screws, tacks, bolts,
hair products, Christmas decorations, kitchen gadgets, and desk
supplies.
Almost all of these foreign object ingestions happened in the home,
according to the subset of cases that had data on the location where
incidents occurred.
Roughly one-third of the cases involved kids under two years old,
the study also found.
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The study wasn't a controlled experiment designed to prove whether
or how any specific factors might have impacted the surge in ER
visits for foreign object injections.
Another limitation of the study is that it only included children
seen in ERs, not kids who were treated in other settings or who
weren't injured badly enough to require care. Researchers also
lacked data on the exact objects swallowed by individual children or
outcomes for specific patients.
Even so, the results should serve as a fresh reminder to parents
that young kids can and do put all sorts of objects in their mouths,
said Dr. Pamela Okada, medical director of the emergency department
at Children's Health Plano and professor at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center.
"Coins, jewelry, small toys, button batteries, and magnets are
commonly ingested because they are small enough to fit in a child's
mouth," Okada, who wasn't involved in the study, said by email.
"Children are constantly exploring and understanding their
environment by feeling things with their lips and mouths."
Parents need to be especially cautious with button batteries and
powerful magnets, said Dr. Lois Lee, an emergency medicine physician
at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
"Ingesting a button battery or high-powered magnet can potentially
be lethal," Lee, who wasn't involved in the study, said by email.
Button batteries need to be stored out of reach of children, and
disposed of where kids can't get to them, Lee said.
"And I tell families with young children not to have any
high-powered magnet toys in the house," Lee continued. "These are
often very small, and if dropped on the ground, may not be very
visible."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2X7yH8N Pediatrics, online April 12, 2019.
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