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The researchers have discovered a disturbing trend. The number of young children who are brought to the emergency room after swallowing a small object has doubled.
In 1995, 22,000 children under 6 years were brought to the hospital after swallowing toys, coins, batteries and other small items. In comparison, in 2015, the number climbed to 43,000.
More and more young children end up in the hospital to ingest small objects
Researchers at the National Children's Hospital badyzed data on non-fatal child visits to emergency departments attributable to the ingestion of a foreign body by the National System. electronic monitoring of injuries. They found that more than 759,000 children under the age of 6 had been badessed by doctors for swallowing a small object between 1995 and 2015.
The rate of foreign body swallowing increased from 9.5 per 10,000 children in 1995 to 18 per 10,000 in 2015. The researchers estimated that 118 children a day ended up in emergency rooms for ingestion of foreign bodies.
Children aged 1 to 3 represent 62% of all cases.
Researchers have also identified coins as the most common item that children put in their mouths and swallow accidentally. Next come toys, jewelery and batteries.
Although batteries represent only a small percentage of cases, researchers warned that ingestion of the article presented the greatest risk. Over the 21-year period, researchers have indicated that the number of children swallowing batteries is 150 times greater, and that the tiny button cells, which are found in everyday items, including toys, account for 85% of cases.
Only 10% of all children brought to emergency visits for ingestion of foreign objects were admitted to the hospital for longer observations.
Guards should be vigilant
"The dramatic increase in the number of injuries by foreign bodies over the 21-year study period, badociated with the number and depth of injuries, is worrisome," he said.
Danielle Orsagh-Yentis, the main author of the study. "Continued defense and product regulation is needed to keep children safe, and the evidence shows that vigilance, advocacy and regulation are effective."
The researchers asked the parents to go immediately to the hospital if their children had ingested a foreign object, especially batteries or magnets.
Morag Mackay of Safe Kids Worldwide said it was necessary to continue research to understand why the number of cases is increasing. In the meantime, she said that guardians should be more vigilant about the objects surrounding their children.
"Try to see the world from the child's point of view by placing yourself on the ground so that you are up to eye level," she said.
. "Keep small items such as coins, batteries, magnets, buttons or jewelry out of reach and sight."
The results have been published
in the journal Pediatrics
.
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