Abstract

Foreign body ingestion is a common problem in pediatrics; some of them can be life-threatening, such as button batteries, magnets, and sharp, pointy objects. Due to the intestine's intrinsic capacity to protect against these events, most foreign bodies pass without harm. Nonetheless, severe complications can arise in some patients. Therefore, prevention, parent education, a high index of suspicion, and close surveillance are essential tools to treat these patients. We present the case of a toddler who accidentally ingested a foreign body (key) and was placed under close surveillance since she was asymptomatic. After 72 hours the key passed and she fully recovered.

Details

Title
A key to a parent’s heart lies in their child’s stomach: a case of foreign body ingestion in a child
Author
Molina, Gabriel A 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Oliva-Torres, Carlos E 2 ; Mantilla, Xavier R 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Portilla, Carolina 2 ; Ochoa-Andrade, Miguel J 3 

1  Department of General Surgery Hospital IESS Quito Sur , School of Medicine Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), 170901, Av. Diego de Robles, Quito, Ecuador 
2  School of Medicine Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) , 170525, Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito, Ecuador 
3  Graduate School , Universidad de las Américas (UDLA), 170137, Av. de los Granados, Quito, Ecuador 
Publication year
2025
Publication date
Jul 2025
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
20428812
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/jscr/rjaf522
ProQuest document ID
3230528812
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press and JSCR Publishing Ltd. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.