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Most studies of foreign-body ingestion have addressed accidental ingestion or food impaction. Now, investigators have reviewed cases of intentional foreign-body ingestion in a large county hospital serving a predominantly lower socioeconomic population.
During a period of 7 years, 262 foreign-body ingestions in 60 patients were identified. Of these ingestions, 92% were intentional. Most of these cases (85%) occurred in psychiatric patients, and 84% of these patients had a prior history of foreign-body ingestion.
Endoscopic therapy was performed in 199 patients, initial surgery in 18, and conservative therapy alone in 36. Details were unavailable for nine patients. For those patients who underwent endoscopy, 165 had the object successfully ext…