Sharp-pointed Foreign Body Ingestion in a Child: A Unique Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract: Accidental foreign body ingestion is commonly encountered in clinical practice, especially among children.Concern arises especially when the ingested foreign body is a sharp object due to the risk of perforation, mucosal injury, and impaction in the gut. Of inadvertently ingested foreign bodies, 10%–20% require endoscopic removal and <1% require open surgical intervention.Endoscopic management, though popular, still remains difficult due to the inaccessibility of certain points in the bowel. Here, we describe a 7-year-old male child who presented to us on March 31, 2024, with a history of accidental ingestion of an iron nail 2 days prior. Although colonoscopic retrieval was the first mode of management undertaken on the basis of impaction in the distal ileum, the same was not successful. Eventually, the child was placed on conservative management and the nail was passed per rectally spontaneously on defecation after 3 days of observation.