Loading...
When parents report that a child has swallowed a foreign body, the usual approach is to allow the object to pass spontaneously unless it is sharp or large. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has reported 20 cases of severe outcomes following ingestion of powerful rare-earth magnets.
Patients ranged in age from 10 months to 11.5 years. Five children had a condition such as autism, developmental delay, or ADHD that might have predisposed them to swallow nonfood objects. All children swallowed more than one magnet, except one child who ingested a magnet and another metal object. Most of the magnets had been dislodged from toys. One patient died following volvulus, bowel necrosis, and sepsis. The other 19 patients had some combin…