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Intestinal perforation secondary to ingested foreign bodies: a single-center experience with 38 cases

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study is to report our experience with patients with intestinal perforation secondary to ingested foreign bodies (FBs) who were treated surgically at our institution.

Methods

Between 2001 and 2015, a total of 38 pediatric patients with the diagnosis of intestinal perforation secondary to FBs were retrospectively reviewed.

Results

The series comprised 22 males and 16 females. The average age of the patients was 1.9 years. A definitive preoperative history of the ingestion of FBs was obtained for only eight patients. Crying and abdominal pain were the main clinical manifestations. Perforation repair was performed in 29 patients (76.3%), while enterostomy was utilized in five patients (13.2%) and enterectomy in four patients (10.5%). Five perforations occurred in the large intestine, and 33 perforations occurred in the small intestine with the most common site being the distal ileum. Of the 38 FBs recovered, 26 were food objects, while non-food objects were found in 12 patients. All patients recovered well, except one patient with an intestinal obstruction from adhesions that occurred approximately 1 month after discharge.

Conclusions

Clinical performance of intestinal perforation secondary to FBs in children is atypical. Most perforations occur in the small intestine. Primary perforation repair is safe and effective, and better outcomes can be achieved.

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Acknowledgements

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

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Xiao-Kun Lin & Xiao-Fang Lin

  2. Department of Pediatric Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, China

    Da-Zhou Wu & Na Zheng

Authors
  1. Xiao-Kun Lin
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  2. Da-Zhou Wu
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  3. Xiao-Fang Lin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiao-Kun Lin.

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Funding

This work was funded by the Science and Technology Bureay of Wenzhou (Project: Y20140243).

Conflict of interest

We declare that we have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the ethics committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

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

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Lin, XK., Wu, DZ., Lin, XF. et al. Intestinal perforation secondary to ingested foreign bodies: a single-center experience with 38 cases. Pediatr Surg Int 33, 605–608 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-017-4075-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-017-4075-6

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