Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We sought to describe the frequency of encounters and complications of foreign body (FB) ingestion in children seen at Royal Hospital, Oman. METHODS: Medical records of all children (≤ 13 years) who presented to Royal Hospital between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2014 diagnosed with FB ingestion were reviewed. Children with FBs in their mouth or airway, with esophageal food impaction, and caustic ingestion were excluded from the analysis. Parameters including age, sex, type of FB, anatomical location of the FB on X-ray, endoscopic findings, and all complications were reviewed. RESULTS: Of the 585 children diagnosed with FB ingestion, 385 were included in the study; 58.4% were males and 41.6% were females giving a male to female ratio of 1.4:1.0. Half (50.9%) of the children were less than three years old. Coins were the most frequently ingested objects (41.3%) followed by disc batteries (12.2%). Sixty-three patients (16.3%) required urgent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). EGD was performed mainly for coins (44.4%) followed by disc batteries (14.3%) in the esophagus or stomach. The complication rate was 5.2% in total, and 3.6% for clinically significant complications. We had no mortality cases. CONCLUSIONS: FB ingestion is common in toddlers in Oman. Coins and disc batteries are most commonly ingested calling for strict family vigilance. Endoscopy is done in a small number of children and clinically significant complications, in general, are low. However, these findings should not lead to a false sense of security, and ingested FBs should always be taken seriously.