Group ingestion of high-powered magnets in children-A clinical and public health challenge.

Abstract

High-powered magnets are a preventable cause of serious gastrointestinal injury in children, with ingestion often resulting in hospitalization and occasionally surgery. We report six classmates, aged 5-6 years, who ingested high-powered magnets during a single school day after mistaking them for candy. All presented to our emergency department within 12 h of ingestion. Three underwent endoscopy and three were managed with serial imaging; all magnets were retrieved or passed spontaneously, with no obstruction, perforation, or surgery. The near-simultaneous presentations strained endoscopy resources and required coordinated triage by magnet number, configuration, and symptoms. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission defines these magnets for users ≥14 years, yet all patients were under 7, underscoring age-based labeling limitations. To our knowledge, this is the first reported cluster of simultaneous classroom magnet ingestion, highlighting persistent exposure despite regulation and the need for standardized triage protocols and national surveillance.