Picking up the tab: obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract by plastic bread bag clips

Small Bowel Perforation Due to a Plastic Bread Bag Clip: The Case for Clip Redesign

“…We therefore theorize that these clips once ingested may not necessarily pass directly through the gastrointestinal tract but potentially embed into the bowel wall eliciting a foreign body reaction. Perforation 1–3 , obstruction 4–7 , dysphagia 4 bleeding 1 , and colonic impaction 6 are recognized complications. At least 10 cases of small bowel perforation have been reported in the literature with the most recent in Perth 8 .…”

Picking up the tab: Gastrointestinal bleeding due to an embedded bread bag clip

“…Two cases were reported 33 years ago at our center. One patient required surgical colonic resection, while the other had the clip successfully removed endoscopically from the esophagus using a snare …”

Replacing plastic bread clips with cardboard will prevent bowel perforation

“…All perforations required laparotomy and bowel resection apart from 3 cases; a thoracotomy for oesophageal perforation and two patients were directly palliated 9–20 . While the case numbers are few, the associated significant morbidity has led to recommendations to immediately remove the clips if accessible endoscopically; with several cases documenting successful retrieval 10,21–29 …”

“…Of the people who ingest these clips, a surprisingly large proportion (20%) consists of healthy adult males who allegedly ate their meals too quickly 9,12,14,17,22,25,26,30,31 . That being said, the vast majority of cases are either elderly, edentulous, intoxicated, visually or cognitively impared 11,13,15,19,22–24,32–40 .…”