title: Emergency admissions due to swallowed foreign bodies in adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study a retrospective analysis of patients who presented to the emergency departments (ED) with complaints related to foreign body ingestions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients older than 16 years of age who presented to the ED between January 1(st) and December 31(st) of 2010 with complaints related to swallowed foreign bodies were identified from electronic health records and patient charts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 100 patients presented with a complaint of foreign body ingestion during the study period. Overall, an X-ray was performed on 75 patients, and a fiberoptic evaluation was performed on 45 patients. A foreign body was detected in 46 (46%) patients. The diagnostic yield of the X-ray was 27 (36%) out of 75 patients, while the diagnostic yield of the fiberoptic evaluations was 21 (47%) out of 45 patients. The detected foreign bodies were mostly located in the esophagus (17 out of 46 foreign bodies detected). When the types of ingested foreign bodies were evaluated, 52 (52%) patients reported ingesting food, and 19 (19%) patients reported swallowing pins. An X-ray was performed on 33 patients with accidental food ingestions but yielded a positive result in only two cases. In 12 out of 21 patients with accidental food ingestion who underwent fiberoptic evaluation, the foreign material was detected and removed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plain radiography is helpful in the localization of radiopaque swollen foreign bodies, while fiberoptic methods are useful as both diagnostic and therapeutic tools, regardless of radiopacity.
authors.affiliation: Bülent Erbil, Mehmet Ali Karaca, Mehmet Ali Aslaner, Zaur İbrahimov, Mehmet Mahir Kunt, Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bülent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erbil
authors.forename: Mehmet Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Karaca
authors.forename: Mehmet Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Aslaner
authors.forename: Zaur
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ibrahimov
authors.forename: Mehmet Mahir
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kunt
authors.forename: Erhan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Akpinar
authors.forename: Mehmet Mahir
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Özmen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003679:Deglutition; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Emergency; Endoscopy; Foreign body; Gastrointestinal tract; Ingestion