1. Esophageal lesions following button-battery ingestion in children: Analysis of causes and proposals for preventive measures
- Author
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Françoise Denoyelle, Erea-Noel Garabedian, Vincent Couloigner, Nicolas Leboulanger, Charlotte Celerier, and J.J. Lahmar
- Subjects
Male ,Paris ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Pediatrics ,Adolescent ,Poison control ,Esophageal lesions ,Occupational safety and health ,Eating ,03 medical and health sciences ,Electric Power Supplies ,Esophagus ,0302 clinical medicine ,Risk Factors ,030225 pediatrics ,Injury prevention ,medicine ,Humans ,Ingestion ,Child ,Retrospective Studies ,business.industry ,Impaction ,Infant ,030208 emergency & critical care medicine ,Length of Stay ,Foreign Bodies ,Hospitals, Pediatric ,medicine.disease ,Surgery ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Otorhinolaryngology ,Child, Preschool ,Female ,France ,Emergencies ,Foreign body ,Emergency Service, Hospital ,business - Abstract
Objectives To study recent cases of esophageal injury due to button-battery ingestion in children presenting in pediatric ENT emergency departments of the Paris area of France (Ile-de-France region), in order to propose appropriate preventive measures. Material and method A retrospective descriptive single-center study included all children under 15 years of age, presenting in pediatric ENT emergency departments between January 2008 and April 2014 for button-battery ingestion with esophageal impaction requiring emergency removal. Results Twenty-two boys and 4 girls, with a median age of 25 months, were included. Twenty-five of the 26 batteries had diameters of 20 mm or more. Median esophageal impaction time was 7 hours 30 minutes (range, 2 to 72 hours). The complications rate was 23%. Mean hospital stay cost was €38,751 (range, €5130–119,737). The origin of the battery was known in 23 of the 26 cases: remote control without screw-secured compartment (42.3%), open battery pack (15.4%), children's toy (15.3%), camera (7.7%), watch (1 case) and hearing aid without screw-secured compartment (1 case). Conclusion Esophageal lesions due to ingestion of button-batteries in children are almost always due to batteries larger than 20 mm in diameter, mostly from devices with a poorly protected compartment, or batteries that are not individually packaged. These lesions cause serious complications in a quarter of cases and their management entails high health costs. Legislation requiring screw-secured compartments and individual blisters for batteries could have prevented 69.2% of the ingestions.
- Published
- 2018
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