Clinical Guidelines and Advocacy for the Reduction of Pediatric Button Battery Injuries

Abstract

Button batteries (BBs) are a severe potential hazard present in household settings, and BB injuries in children continue to be a significant source of morbidity and mortality. When lodged in the body, BBs can cause serious injury within as little as 2 hours. Without a known history of BB ingestion, the diagnosis can be challenging because symptoms may be nonspecific and mimic common viral illnesses seen in children. Based on recent research on esophageal BBs, novel mitigation strategies can be used in the urgent care and emergency department settings, or during transport between facilities <12 hours from ingestion. These include the preremoval use of honey or sucralfate to help decrease the rate of esophageal tissue injury. All emergency care providers should be aware of these interventions for esophageal BB and help to expedite these children to the operating room for removal.