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. 2021 Oct 23;8(11):956.
doi: 10.3390/children8110956.

Foreign Body Ingestion in Neurologically Impaired Children: A Challenging Diagnosis and Management in Pediatric Surgery

Francesca Destro  1 , Anna Maria Caruso  2 , Cecilia Mantegazza  3 , Luciano Maestri  1 , Milena Meroni  1 , Federica Pederiva  1 , Mario Milazzo  2 , Carlo Acierno  2 , Gianvincenzo Zuccotti  3   4 , Valeria Calcaterra  3   5 , Gloria Pelizzo  1   4
Affiliations

Foreign Body Ingestion in Neurologically Impaired Children: A Challenging Diagnosis and Management in Pediatric Surgery

Francesca Destro et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Children with intellectual disability/neurodevelopmental delay (ID-ND) commonly ingest foreign bodies (FB) and often present complications due to peculiar aspects of their condition. The aim of this paper is to report the experience of two centers in the management of ID-ND patients after FB ingestion and to discuss a possible algorithm for clinical practice. We retrospectively evaluated data of patients managed for FB ingestion (period: 2017-2021), focusing on those with ID-ND, specifically demographics and baseline diagnosis, elements related to the event, symptoms, time to endoscopy, FB location, endoscopic details, and follow-up. A total of 457 patients were managed in the study period and 19 had ID-ND (mean age 9.8 ± 3.5 years, 15 males). A total of 16/19 (84.2%) were symptomatic and required an operative approach. Recurrent ingestions and multiple FB were found in 2 and 11 patients, respectively. Endoscopy (mean time 65.6 ± 41 min) was effective in 14 cases (73.6%) and 6 patients (31.6%) developed a complication. FB ingestion in ID-ND patients represents a challenging condition for the clinician and a potentially dangerous situation. It should be addressed specifically by a multidisciplinary team considering a tailored diagnostic and management protocol.

Keywords: children; disability; foreign body ingestion; neurological impairment; pediatric surgery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Intraoperative aspect of FB ingestion: removal of a scotch tape ball from the duodenum.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Abdominal X-ray and signs of intestinal obstruction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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