Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2024 Jan;66(1):e27-e28.
doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2023.06.016. Epub 2023 Jul 6.

A Case Report of Food Impaction Relieved by Warm Water Drinking Therapy

Matthew J Kilroe  1 , Kyle J McAtee  1 , Tamara M McReynolds  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Case Report of Food Impaction Relieved by Warm Water Drinking Therapy

Matthew J Kilroe et al. J Emerg Med. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Emergency department (ED) management of esophageal food impaction without high-grade obstruction is highly variable, without definitive and validated interventions being supported in medical literature.

Case report: We discuss a 34-year-old male patient with diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis and history of multiple food impactions presenting to the ED with a food impaction. Based on a known esophageal history with repeated failure of pharmacologic interventions, the patient was submitted to a new conservative treatment of warm water drinking. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: This case report suggests warm water ingestion as a novel, safe, and successful treatment method in the management of esophageal food bolus impaction. As a conservative treatment not deviating greatly from current ED treatment options, it can reduce patient length of stay and decrease exposure to potential morbidity via invasive endoscopic or surgical intervention. It should be further investigated and validated with a large cohort study.

Keywords: eosinophilic esophagitis; food bolus; impaction; warm water.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Publication types