Intentional and Accidental Ingestion of Foreign Body: A Retrospective Single Center Experience

Purpose: Foreign body (FB) ingestion and its impact on gastrointestinal system is one of the most common health problems and emergency situations in gastrointestinal practice. Management of FB may be a great challenge for the endoscopist. We aimed to evaluate the FB in gastrointestinal system and their management. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients with the complaint of FB in upper digestive system. We evaluated the demographic findings of the patients, characteristic of the FB, endoscopic treatment methods and complications from medical records. Results: Total of 85 patients with the complaint of FB ingestion underwent gastroscopy. The mean age of the patients was 46.69 (19-87 years). The ratio of males/females was 66.7% / 33.3%. In 36% of patients, the ingestion of FB was intentionally, whereas 64 % ingested FB accidentally. In cases who ingested FB intentionally, the majority of FB were metallic objects such as lighter, razor blade, battery. Esophageal perforation (1.3%), micro perforation (1.3%), mucosal self-limited bleeding (1.3%), ulcers and superficial lacerations (4%) in esophagus were most important complications which were observed in 6 patients (8%). Conclusion: Our study showed a great variability of FB ingested either intentional or accidentally. The endoscopic approach for retrieval of these subjects is both effective and safe, without significant complications.