Ingestion of foreign body

Key words: Foreign body ingestion, Case report, Management, Guidelines

Foreign body ingestion is a common problem among paediatric populations. The paper describes the case of a 2-year-old child who had ingested a crucifix. The management of the case with respect to the characteristics of the foreign body (FB), the execution time of the radiograph before endoscopy has posed a series of questions relevant to the management of cases with ingestion of FB. It is essential that the radiological investigation precedes (no more than 30 minutes) the endoscopic removal of the FB. On the need or not to remove an ingested FB, in the case where the FB is in the gastric or duodenal tract, the dimensions of the ingested FB in relation to the age (possible critical dimensions of a foreign body: ! 2 cm if aged less than 1 year, ! 3 cm if aged more than 1 year) and especially the potential injury or the content of toxic substances should be evaluated. The batteries and the magnets are potentially very dangerous and in these cases the removal of the FB should be performed as soon as possible, even in the absence of symptoms.