Location
Suwanee, GA
Start Date
7-5-2024 1:00 PM
End Date
7-5-2024 4:00 PM
Description
INTRODUCTION
With the proliferation of home battery-powered gadgets, emergency visits for accidental pediatric battery ingestions have doubled from 2010 to 2019. Battery ingestion is associated with a risk of serious injury and potential death, particularly lithium button batteries. Tissue damage begins within15 minutes of impaction, with major corrosive injury as soon as two hours; thus, emergent management is crucial to optimize patient outcome.
CASE DESCRIPTION
A healthy, asymptomatic 15-month-old male presents with his father, a physician, for suspected ingestion of a button battery. Vital signs and physical exam are normal. Stat nose-to-rectum plain films confirm the presence of an opaque circular object in the distal stomach.
An emergent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is performed, identifying the battery at the pylorus with surrounding superficial erosions without perforation. The ulcerated areas are neutralized with acetic acid, and a 20 mm lithium battery is successfully removed with a Roth net approximately 3-4 hours after suspected battery ingestion. The patient was discharged home with omeprazole 10 mg daily for 1 month and suffered no immediate or long-term complications.
DISCUSSION
While 2-3 year-old males are most at risk for battery ingestion, the risk exists irrespective of racial, socioeconomic, or parental occupational factors. Providing anticipatory guidance to parents and guardians, as well as implementation of large-scale preventative measures such as Reese’s Law are crucial steps in mitigating battery-related injuries. However, despite best precautionary efforts, when a child is suspected of battery ingestion, timely recognition and management is critical in avoiding poor outcome, complications, or death.
Embargo Period
7-2-2024
Included in
The importance of early recognition and management of battery ingestion in a 15-month-old: a case study
Suwanee, GA
INTRODUCTION
With the proliferation of home battery-powered gadgets, emergency visits for accidental pediatric battery ingestions have doubled from 2010 to 2019. Battery ingestion is associated with a risk of serious injury and potential death, particularly lithium button batteries. Tissue damage begins within15 minutes of impaction, with major corrosive injury as soon as two hours; thus, emergent management is crucial to optimize patient outcome.
CASE DESCRIPTION
A healthy, asymptomatic 15-month-old male presents with his father, a physician, for suspected ingestion of a button battery. Vital signs and physical exam are normal. Stat nose-to-rectum plain films confirm the presence of an opaque circular object in the distal stomach.
An emergent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is performed, identifying the battery at the pylorus with surrounding superficial erosions without perforation. The ulcerated areas are neutralized with acetic acid, and a 20 mm lithium battery is successfully removed with a Roth net approximately 3-4 hours after suspected battery ingestion. The patient was discharged home with omeprazole 10 mg daily for 1 month and suffered no immediate or long-term complications.
DISCUSSION
While 2-3 year-old males are most at risk for battery ingestion, the risk exists irrespective of racial, socioeconomic, or parental occupational factors. Providing anticipatory guidance to parents and guardians, as well as implementation of large-scale preventative measures such as Reese’s Law are crucial steps in mitigating battery-related injuries. However, despite best precautionary efforts, when a child is suspected of battery ingestion, timely recognition and management is critical in avoiding poor outcome, complications, or death.