Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T12:43:20.411Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Unwitnessed lithium ion disc battery ingestion: case report and review of best practice management of an increasing clinical concern

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2012

N Dawe ,
M Puvanendran  and
L Flood
N Dawe*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK
M Puvanendran
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK
L Flood
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Mr N Dawe, Department of Otolaryngology, James Cook University Hospital, Marton Rd, Middlesbrough, TS5 3BW, UK E-mail: n.dawe@nhs.net
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

To describe a case of unwitnessed lithium ion disc battery ingestion, with a review of radiology findings and current best practice management.

Case report:

A three-year-old girl presented following ingestion of a foreign body, which her four-year-old brother claimed was a one pound coin. The patient was managed non-urgently and transferred for specialist ENT assessment 6 hours following the initial ingestion, with no evidence of airway compromise. A corroded battery was removed from the level of the cricopharyngeus after 8 hours, with an associated circumferential mucosal burn.

Conclusion:

There is increasing concern regarding the acknowledged rising incidence of lithium ion disc battery ingestion. The lack of a high index of suspicion and the inability to recognise subtleties on imaging may lead to suboptimal management with a higher degree of unnecessary immediate and delayed morbidity. The recently published American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines may guide the approach to managing battery ingestions.

Keywords

Foreign BodyEsophageal PerforationElectric Injuries
Type
Clinical Records
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 127 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 84 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Little, DC, Shah, SR, St Peter, SD, Calkins, CM, Morrow, SE, Murphy, JP et al. Esophageal foreign bodies in the pediatric population: our first 500 cases. J Pediatr Surg 2006;41:914–18Google Scholar
2S.1165 ‘Button Cell Safety Act of 2011’. In: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s1165is/pdf/BILLS-112s1165is.pdf [20 January 2012]Google Scholar
3 Litovitz, T, Whitaker, N, Clark, L, White, NC, Marsolek, M. Emerging battery-ingestion hazard: clinical implications. Pediatrics 2010;125:1168–77Google Scholar
4 Maves, MD, Lloyd, TV, Carithers, JS. Radiographic identification of ingested disc batteries. Pediatr Radiol 1986;16:154–6Google Scholar
5 Lee, SC, Ebert, CS, Fordham, L, Rose, AS. Plain films in the evaluation of batteries as esophageal foreign bodies. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2008;72:1487–91Google Scholar
6 Hawthorne, M. Medical negligence in paediatric otolaryngology. In: Gleeson, M, eds. Scott-Brown's Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, 7th edn. London: Hodder-Arnold, 2008;1305–11Google Scholar
7 Marom, T, Golfarb, A, Russo, E, Roth, Y. Battery ingestion in children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2010;74:849–54Google Scholar
8 Chevin, JC, Attik, G, Dika, H, Duval, RE, Bottin, MC, Raspiller, MF et al. Button battery induced cell damage: a pathophysiological study. Electrochem Commun 2008;10:1756–60Google Scholar
9 Mallon, PT, White, JS, Thompson, RL. Systemic absorption of lithium following ingestion of a lithium button battery. Hum Exp Toxicol 2004;23:193–5Google Scholar
10CPSC warns: as button battery use increases, so do battery-related injuries and deaths. In: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11181.html [20 January 2012]Google Scholar
11 Litovitz, T, Whitaker, N, Clark, L. Preventing battery ingestions: an analysis of 8648 cases. Pediatrics 2010;125:1178–83Google Scholar
12 Yardeni, D, Yardeni, H, Coran, AG, Golladay, ES. Severe esophageal damage due to button battery ingestion: can it be prevented? Pediatr Surg Int 2004;20:496–501 Google Scholar
13 Kost, KM, Shapiro, RS. Button battery ingestion: a case report and review of the literature. J Otolaryngol 1987;16:252–57Google Scholar
14 Bernstein, JM, Burrows, SA, Saunders, MW. Lodged oesophageal button battery masquerading as a coin: an unusual case of bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Emerg Med J 2007;24:e15Google Scholar
15Fatal button battery ingestions: 28 reported cases. In: http://www.poison.org/battery/fatalcases.asp. [1 November 2011]Google Scholar
16 Berkovits, RN, Bos, CE, Wijburg, FA, Holzki, J. Caustic injury of the esophagus. Sixteen years experience, and introduction of a new model oesophageal stent. J Laryngol Otol 1996;110:1041–5Google Scholar
17 Kay, M, Wyllie, R. Caustic ingestions in children. Curr Opin Pediatr 2009;21:651–4Google Scholar