Swallowed toys, coins and batteries lead to increased visits to emergency rooms

CHICAGO (AP) – The number of young children who have been to US emergency rooms for swallowing toys, coins, batteries and other items has more than doubled, says a new study.

In 2015, nearly 43,000 such visits were made to children under 6, compared to 22,000 in 1995, according to the study published Friday in the journal Pediatrics. The rate has gone from almost 10 out of 10,000 visits to 18 out of 10,000 visits.

The increase "has sounded the alarm," said Dr. Danielle Orsagh-Yentis, senior author and gastrointestinal physician at the Children's Nationwide Hospital in Columbus, in the United States. ;Ohio.

Orsagh-Yentis noted that an increasing number of consumer products are using potentially dangerous button-type batteries, including television remote controls, digital thermometers and remote-controlled toys, which likely contributed to this increase.

She stated that her interest in studying the trend had begun during her training, "while we were all called in the middle of the night at indefinite hours to remove foreign bodies from the esophagus. or the children's stomach ".

His research team badyzed a national database of nonfatal emergency room visits to children under 6 years of age. Nearly 800,000 children were treated during the study years after swallowing foreign objects. Parts, batteries and toys accounted for most of the visits.

Although 90% of treated children were sent home without hospitalization, serious internal injuries and deaths were reported. Batteries and small, powerful magnets often sold as adult office toys are among the most dangerous items.

When children swallow more than one powerful magnet, objects can lure them into the intestines, creating holes in the abdomen that can cause life-threatening blood poisoning.

In recent years, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued safety warnings and orders to stop the sale of some magnets, reporting dozens of hospitalizations and at least one death.

The agency also warned of the dangers of the size of a button size that, when swallowed, can trigger a chemical reaction that can cause burns in tissues located in the body. throat.

Children who swallow batteries or magnets may vomit or complain of abdominal pain. They "should be brought to the emergency room as soon as possible," said Orsagh-Yentis.

Morag Mackay of Safe Kids Worldwide, an advocacy group for injury prevention, called for more research to understand why incidents are on the rise. She said parents and caregivers must be vigilant.

"Try to see the world from a child's point of view by placing yourself on the floor and position it at eye level." Keep small items such as coins, stacks, magnets, buttons or jewels "said Mackay. .

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Follow Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical website editor on Twitter @ address @LindseyTanner .

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