"Battery Retention May Still Pose Serious Gastric Risk in Kids" - Elizabeth Hlavinka
Children who ingested small, coin-shaped batteries, used to power watches or hearing aids, still experienced gastric injury even if they were asymptomatic. Current guidelines from the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition label the timing of endoscopic intervention in pediatric foreign body ingestions as "urgent," if the location is gastric/small bowel, the child is age <5, and the button battery is ≥20 mm. “Guidelines have principally been concerned about the potential for esophageal injury after button battery ingestion, specifically aortoenteric fistula, which can be fatal,” said David Greenwald, MD, professor of medicine and gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "There are serious consequences to their accidental or inadvertent swallowing."
— David A. Greenwald, MD, Professor, Medicine, Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Clinical Gastroenterology and Endoscopy, The Mount Sinai Hospital