@article{ref1,
title="Prevalence, clinical features and management of pediatric magnetic foreign body ingestions",
journal="Journal of emergency medicine",
year="2013",
author="Tavarez, Melissa M. and Saladino, Richard A. and Gaines, Barbara A. and Manole, Mioara D.",
volume="44",
number="1",
pages="261-268",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Foreign body (FB) ingestions are frequent in children. Whereas the majority of FBs pass spontaneously through the gastrointestinal tract, ingestion of magnetic FBs pose a particular risk for obstruction due to proximate attraction through the intestinal wall. STUDY OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify the prevalence, clinical presentation, and management of magnetic FB ingestions at our tertiary care institution. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of medical records of patients presenting to the pediatric Emergency Department (ED) or admitted to the hospital with FB ingestions from June 2003-July 2009. From those cases, patients with magnetic FB ingestions were identified. RESULTS: During the study period, 337,839 patients presented to the ED; 38 cases of magnetic FB ingestion were identified (prevalence 0.01%). Abdominal radiography was obtained in all cases. Ingestion of a single magnet occurred in 30 of 38 cases (79%). Of those, 4 patients underwent endoscopic removal due to signs of FB impaction in the esophagus or pylorus; no complications were noted. Ingestion of multiple magnets (range 2-6) occurred in 8 of 38 cases. Four of the 8 patients with multiple magnetic FBs (50%) presented with signs of peritonitis and required operative repair of multiple intestinal perforations. No deaths were identified. CONCLUSION: Although ingestion of a single magnetic FB may, in most cases, be managed as a simple FB ingestion, the ingestion of multiple magnetic FB is associated with a high risk of complication and requires aggressive management. We propose an algorithm for management of children with magnetic FB ingestions.  Keywords: Multiple magnet ingestion<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0736-4679",
doi="10.1016/j.jemermed.2012.03.025",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2012.03.025"
}