Clinical practice guideline of gastrointestinal foreign bodies in children

Abstract

Ingestion of a foreign body is a very common type of unintentional injury in childhood, particularly in infants older than 6 months and preschoolers. The desired purpose with the publication of this guideline is to have up-to-date tools in the diagnosis and treatment of this condition that allow to systematize the behavior and improve the quality of medical care. Within the most frequent foreign bodies we have: coins, magnets, batteries, small toys, plastics, jewelry, buttons, bones and food impactations in older children. Symptomatology varies depending on the nature of the foreign body, the place where it impacted, which is almost always in anatomical or acquired narrowness of the digestive tract, or by the presence of complications. To confirm the diagnosis, different imaging and endoscopic studies are necessary, the latter with a therapeutic value. Treatment depends on factors such as age, ingestion time, location, presence of complications, the nature of the foreign body, the amount and the lacerating, toxic or corrosive potential. In most cases foreign bodies are expelled spontaneously and have a favorable prognosis, but there is a group of patients left for whom surgical treatment is necessary. After conducting a search for quality systematic reviews and taking into account the experience of Matanzas province’s Pediatric Surgery Service in the treatment of these patients, this guideline was created and it was discussed and approved at the IV National Symposium of Pediatric Surgery. The publication of this guideline would allow Pediatric Surgery services to use it as a reference and apply it in their own institutions with the consequent benefit for patients.