Button battery ingestion requiring upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: A retrospective study at a tertiary care hospital (2014-2024).

Abstract

Introduction. Ingestion of a button battery constitutes an endoscopic emergency due to the risk of serious injury. Objective. To describe the clinical, endoscopic, and clinical course characteristics of patients who swallowed a button battery and required upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in the pediatric emergency department of a tertiary care center between 2014 and 2024. Population and methods. Observational, descriptive, and retrospective study. The study included patients younger than 15 years of age with a radiological diagnosis of button-cell battery ingestion who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Results. A total of 106 patients (63 males) were included. The median age was 24 months (IQR 15-48); 35.8% of the patients were initially evaluated at another institution. In 51% of cases, the time since ingestion was unknown. At the time of consultation, 39/106 patients (36.5%) were asymptomatic. Among those with symptoms (67/106), the most common symptom was hypersalivation, present in 36/106 patients (33.9% of the total). Hypersalivation was significantly associated with severe lesions (OR 8.115; 95%CI 2.913-24.3; p <0.01). Lesions located in the upper esophagus also showed a significant association (OR 2.461; 95%CI 1.077-5.775; p = 0.029). Conclusion. Esophageal impaction was common and was associated with a high percentage of severe injuries. Hypersalivation was significantly associated with greater severity.