Connect
MJA
MJA

Ingestion of magnets in children: a growing concern

Manjunath B Siddaiah-Subramanya and Peter Borzi
Med J Aust 2009; 190 (2): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02291.x
Published online: 19 January 2009

To the Editor: Accidental ingestion of foreign bodies is common in children. Most pass through the gastrointestinal tract spontaneously,1 but some, such as magnets and batteries, can cause serious problems. We treated three children, aged 4–11 years, who ingested magnets that caused multiple bowel perforations.


  • Mater Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, QLD.


Correspondence: manjunathbss9@yahoo.com

  • 1. Nagaraj HS, Sunil I. Multiple foreign body ingestion and ileal perforation. Pediatr Surg Int 2005; 21: 718-720.
  • 2. Uyemura MC. Foreign body ingestion in children. Am Fam Physician 2005; 72: 287-291.
  • 3. Arana A, Hauser B, Hachimi-Idrissi S, Vandenplas Y. Management of ingested foreign bodies in childhood and review of the literature. Eur J Pediatr 2001; 160: 468-472.
  • 4. Webb WA. Management of foreign bodies of the upper gastrointestinal tract: update. Gastrointest Endosc 1995; 41: 39-51.
  • 5. Nandi P, Ong GB. Foreign body in the esophagus: review of 2394 cases. Br J Surg 1978; 65: 5-9.

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.