title: Multiple magnet ingestion: is there a role for early surgical intervention?
abstract: Children often swallow foreign bodies. Multiple magnet ingestion is rare, but can result in serious complications. This study presents three unique cases of multiple magnet ingestion: one case an 8-year-old boy with multiple magnet ingestion resulting in gastric obstruction and the other two cases with intestinal perforations due to multiple magnet intake. History and physical examination are unreliable in children who swallow multiple magnets. Sometimes radiological findings are not conclusive, whether one magnet is swallowed or more. If magnets are not moved in sequential radiology images, we recommend early surgical intervention before gastrointestinal complications develop. Toy companies, parents, physicians, and radiologists should be warned about the potential complications of such toys.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mehdizad@sina.tums.ac.ir
authors.forename: Amrollah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salimi
authors.forename: Soheil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kooraki
authors.forename: Shadi Abdar
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Esfahani
authors.forename: Mehrzad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mehdizadeh
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000601:surgery*; D017219:Gastric Outlet Obstruction / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007416:Intestinal Perforation / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D059346:Magnets / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000293:injuries*