Pediatric foreign body ingestion in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objectives: To improve the local data and demographics of foreign body (FB) ingestion in the Makkah, Saudi Arabia and to provide basic statistics for future studies in the local community. Methods: We carried out a record-based retrospective epidemiological study of 153 pediatric patients with FB ingestion who presented to our center in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, between December 2014 and December 2019. Adult age, impacted FB at other sites, and chemical ingestion were excluded. Results: Descriptive statistical analyses were performed. There has been an alarming increase in the number of children admitted to hospitals following FB ingestion. Approximately 41.8% of these patients were under the age of 4 years, with boys (63.4%) accounting for the majority. Most of the ingested FB were coins (60.8%), and 96.7% of the patients remained under 24 hours of observation at the hospital. The results showed a highly statistically significant relationship between the FB type, age, length of hospital stay, and esophagoscopic findings. Conclusion: A large number of children presented with ingested FB, especially those younger than 4 years of age, whose clinical presentation varied from asymptomatic to severe complications, and urgent endoscopic intervention might have decreased serious complications. Further preventive measures are necessary within homes in addition to increasing caregivers’ awareness of the different circumstances of FB ingestion and the time required for urgent admission.

A Retrospective Analysis of Foreign Body Ingestions Among the Pediatric Age Group in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…This result agreed with a previous study done in 2017, which reported that age was one of the most influencing factors in FBI [13]. In our study, coin ingestion was the most common FBI type, representing 46.7% (n=111) of cases; 17.2% (n=40) of cases presented with battery ingestion, which was similar to studies done in Saudi Arabia in 2018 and 2023 [4,14].…”

“…The most commonly used procedure for FB removal was urgent endoscopy, accounting for 54.1% of all cases in our study, which was similar to another study [4]. In addition, in a study done in Makkah, 95.4% of FBI patients required urgent endoscopic removal of the FB [14]. Furthermore, in a study done in Kurdistan, out of 20 patients, 13 required endoscopic intervention [3].…”