Grilling pains: case series of four patients needing operative intervention after accidental ingestion of a wire bristle

Abstract

Accidental ingestion of a grill brush wire bristle is a rare event. Retrieval rarely requires surgical intervention as the wire typically causes symptoms above the gastro-oesophageal junction and can frequently be removed endoscopically. There are few reported cases of gastrointestinal injury due to ingestion of wire bristles lodging past the gastro-oesophageal junction in adults. We present four cases of wire brush bristle ingestion that required operative intervention. Our case series illustrates how the commonly used wire grill brush may cause a serious injury. This diagnosis should be considered in patients who present with abdominal pain, non-specific symptoms and normal labs, with liner radio-opaque imaging findings and a history of grill use. Education as to the dangers of grill wire brushes to clean grills should be provided commercially.

Hazards and Management of Wire Bristle ingestions: A Systematic Review

“…There was 1 case in this group where the bristle migrated after diagnosis, which involved eventual defecation of the bristle 58 . Complications of inadvertent bristle ingestion in this group were as follows: 1 ureter obstruction causing hematuria, 2 cases suspicious for appendicitis, 8,12 1 case of sepsis leading to death in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia, 9 and pancreatic injury, 38 as well as abscesses of the extraluminal duodenum, 6 abdominal wall, 59 and peritoneum 36 …”

“…The final 57 studies were included in this review and used for data abstraction. 2-9,12-60 Our PRISMA flowchart is detailed in Figure 1 . Retrospective case series were evaluated with the NICE quality assessment tools (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), 76 outlined in Table 2 .…”

“…It was successful 80% (8/10) of the time. Both laparoscopic failures were converted to open procedures, which were successful 8,59 . Of the EGD attempts, 46.2% (6/11) were successful, and 77.8% (7/9) of laparoscopy attempts proved successful.…”

“…Unsuccessful intra- or extraluminal bristles can be removed endoscopically by laparoscopy or a laparotomy. Laparoscopy had an 80% success rate with 2 failures that required laparotomy, 8,59 while laparotomy had a 100% success rate.…”

“…A systematic search was performed per the PRISMA literature selection process ( Figure 1 ). 2-9,12-75 Two authors (N.M. and Y.M.) independently searched the literature for relevant articles.…”