Anesthetic Implications of Button Battery Ingestion in Children

Foreign body ingestion is common in young children (those less than 5 yr of age).1,2 Most ingested items pass uneventfully through the gastrointestinal tract, but certain items may prove dangerous due to their size, composition, or location.3,4 The following Clinical Focus Review discusses the increasingly common problem of button battery ingestion, which, when left untreated can rapidly result in life-threatening complications, particularly in young children. The definitive management requires prompt recognition and endoscopic removal of batteries, often necessitating the use of general anesthesia. Awareness of the potential problems and recommended solutions for button battery ingestion is therefore of vital importance to practicing anesthesiologists.
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research