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Accidentally Ingested Toothpicks Causing Severe Gastrointestinal Injury: A Practical Guideline for Diagnosis and Therapy Based on 136 Case Reports

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Abstract

Background

Ingested toothpicks are a relatively rare event, but may cause serious gut injuries with peritonitis, sepsis, or death. Numerous case reports describing the clinical course in this setting are available but there is no concise guideline. The aim of the present study was to develop practical guidelines to aid clinicians in the diagnosis and management of acute tooth pick ingestion.

Method

Our Medline search identified 116 publications containing case reports of ingested toothpicks. We then performed a retrospective analysis of patients’ characteristics, medical history, diagnostics, therapy, and clinical outcome.

Results

A total of 136 cases (74 % male, age 52 [5–92] years) have been reported in the literature. From the available information, more than 50 % (n = 48) of patients were not aware of having swallowed a toothpick. The most common presenting symptoms were abdominal pain (82 %), fever (39 %), and nausea (31 %). The toothpick caused gut perforation in 79 % of all patients. The locations of toothpicks prior removal were esophagus (2 %), stomach (20 %), duodenum (23 %), small intestine (18 %), and large intestine (37 %). The diagnostic procedures included endoscopy (63 %), computed tomography scan (63 %), and ultrasound (47 %); however, in 35 % of cases these investigations failed to detect the toothpick. Therapy was surgery in most cases (58 %). The overall mortality was 9.6 %.

Conclusions

Toothpick ingestion is a medical emergency. Perforations of the intestine are common and the associated mortality is high. Adequate therapy depends on localization of the toothpick in the gastrointestinal tract. Ingested toothpicks should be kept in mind as an important differential diagnosis in patients with acute abdomen.

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Abbreviations

CT:

Computed tomography

US:

Ultrasound

GI:

Gastrointestinal

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Diarmaid Houlihan for thorough revision of the manuscript and crucial comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Catherine Steinbach, Martin Stockmann, Maximilian Jara & Jan Bednarsch

  2. Department of General, Visceral, Vascular and Paediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Würzburg, Oberdürrbacher Str. 6, 97080, Würzburg, Germany

    Johan Friso Lock

Authors
  1. Catherine Steinbach
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  2. Martin Stockmann
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  3. Maximilian Jara
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  4. Jan Bednarsch
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  5. Johan Friso Lock
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Correspondence to Johan Friso Lock.

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Steinbach, C., Stockmann, M., Jara, M. et al. Accidentally Ingested Toothpicks Causing Severe Gastrointestinal Injury: A Practical Guideline for Diagnosis and Therapy Based on 136 Case Reports. World J Surg 38, 371–377 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-013-2307-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-013-2307-z

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