Foreign Body Ingestion in Children: A 16-year Experience

Purpose: Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a common health problem that affects children. It requires endoscopic removal in up to 20% of cases. In this study, we reviewed all our pediatric cases of FB ingestion requiring endoscopy and compared their management to the published guidelines. Methods: Retrospective study of children (aged 0–16 years) who were admitted to the emergency pediatric service department and underwent endoscopy for FB ingestion from January 2007 to December 2022. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA software version 17.0 (StataCorp LP). Results: Of a total of 962 children diagnosed with FB ingestion, 62 of them (median age 4 years; interquartile range 2–8 years) underwent endoscopies and were included in this study. Of these, 39 (62.9%) were symptomatic and 23 (37.1%) were asymptomatic. The most common symptoms were vomiting (24.2%), pain (24.2%), sialorrhea (22.6%). In most patients, FBs were located in the esophagus (56.2%), with coins being the most common type (42.0%). The occurrence of at least one symptom was found to be associated with the FBs located in the upper-middle esophagus (compared to all other anatomical regions) (p<0.001). NASPGHAN and ESPGHAN guidelines were met in 68.8% of patients, while SIGENP guidelines were met in 72.9%. Conclusion: FB ingestion is common in children. Coins are the most frequently encountered objects, typically located in the esophagus or stomach. An association was observed between the presence of at least one symptom and FBs located in the upper-middle esophagus. Performing endoscopies within 2 hours of FB ingestion is challenging in some cases. © 2025 by The Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition