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Multiple magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: a single-center retrospective review

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Pediatric Surgery International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Foreign body (FB) ingestion is increasingly common in children, and ingestion of multiple magnetic FBs can cause serious injuries. This study aimed to identify the clinical features and management options of such cases.

Methods

A retrospective review was conducted of 35 pediatric patients diagnosed as having ingested multiple magnetic FBs.

Results

The main clinical manifestations were abdominal pain, vomiting, and fever. Of the 35 patients, 6 (17.1%) were conservatively treated and the remaining 29 (82.9%) were surgically treated. Of those who were surgically treated, 26 underwent exploratory laparotomy and 3 underwent laparoscopic surgery that was switched to open surgery. Intestinal structure and function were restored without complications in patients who underwent successful perforation repair following removal of multiple magnetic FBs.

Conclusions

Ingestion of multiple magnetic FBs can lead to intestinal perforations, bowel strangulation, and necrosis. Accordingly, timely diagnosis and effective management of multiple magnetic FB ingestions in pediatric patients are of paramount importance to reduce further complications.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our colleagues from the Department of Pediatric Surgery, for their assistance with data collection.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81903235), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LQ18H020004), the Science and Technology Bureay of Wenzhou (Y20190085), the Medical and Health Science Project of Zhejiang Province (2020KY645) and Yumiao project of The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University.

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Author notes

  1. Xiaozhong Huang and Jun Hu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 109# Wenzhou Xueyuan West Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, China

    Xiaozhong Huang, Jun Hu, Zhaobo Xia & Xiaokun Lin

Authors
  1. Xiaozhong Huang
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  2. Jun Hu
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  3. Zhaobo Xia
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  4. Xiaokun Lin
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Correspondence to Xiaokun Lin.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Huang, X., Hu, J., Xia, Z. et al. Multiple magnetic foreign body ingestion in pediatric patients: a single-center retrospective review. Pediatr Surg Int 37, 639–643 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-020-04814-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-020-04814-w

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