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Review
. 2022 Dec;92(12):3195-3197.
doi: 10.1111/ans.17861. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

Replacing plastic bread clips with cardboard will prevent bowel perforation

Lalita Maria Andersen  1 , Peter Yuide  2
Affiliations
Review

Replacing plastic bread clips with cardboard will prevent bowel perforation

Lalita Maria Andersen et al. ANZ J Surg. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Plastic bread clips cause significant morbidity and mortality if accidentally ingested. A review of all existing case reports published in medical literature was conducted in PubMed, MedLine and Google Scholar. Key words included but was not limited to; clip, tag, tab, closure, kwik lok, bread, bag, ingestion, bowel, obstruction, perforation, plastic and foreign body. References of all the articles were sought out to ensure completeness. Fifty-six cases between 1975 and 2020 were analysed to understand the complications and the characteristics of the bread clip that caused these. About 28% of case reports described bowel perforation, with 61% of these occurring in the small bowel. Plastic bread clips are firm in nature, long lasting, and are shaped to grasp onto bowel, thus leading to these complications. Commercially available alternatives are introduced in order to encourage replacing plastic bread clips worldwide.

Keywords: bowel perforation; bread clip; foreign body.

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References

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    1. Our Cardboard Bread Tags Are Better For Every Aussie: George Weston Foods Limited; 2021. Available from URL: https://tiptop.com.au/sustainability/
    1. Together to Zero: Coles Own Brand bread to have plastic tags removed [press release]. coles group, 1 September, 2021.

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