Prompt action by emergency saves a six-and-a-half-year-old boy

A 6.5 year old boy presented at Ruby Emergency around 8.15 pm with an accidental ingestion of magnet while playing at home. Prompt action was taken and he was admitted under the care of Dr. Debajyoti Chakraborty (Consultant Gastroenterologist) and Dr. Parichaya Bera (Consultant Paediatric). The young boy did not have any history of vomiting or pain in the abdomen post ingestion of the magnet. After a swift evaluation relevant investigations were advised where the abdominal X ray revealed the magnet at L5 region. After discussion with the parents and with due written and informed consent the child was posted for Upper GI Endoscopy.

An endoscopy is a procedure where the doctor inserts a long flexible tube known as enoscope with a tiny camera on its end into the body to look at the organs, diagnose conditions and sometimes treat illness. Using the instrument the doctor can remove the foreign body.

The procedure was a challenging one as the foreign body had been located in the stomach which had a substantial amount of food retention. It was like finding a needle in the haystack. Yet, the hurdles were overcome and the magnet was retrieved. The efforts of the Department of Gastroenterology is commendable as the child was brought to the hospital late in the night, and the foreign body was retrieved in not more than two and half hours post admission. Parents are very cautious about their children and take extreme measures for their physical safety, yet, accidents are inevitable. Thus, objects which can be harmful for children should always be kept out of reach from them. For example, neodymium magnets are currently used for desk toys and ornaments. These rare earth magnets are at least 5 - 10 times more potent than traditional magnets. If multiple magnets or a magnet with attached metal parts is ingested bowel loops may get trapped and may lead to obstruction and fistula. So, a magnet especially a 2.5 cm sized one with a suspicion of attached metal part if ingested should be removed endoscopically as early as possible. Airway should be protected using intubation if patient has taken food recently.