title: A case of child death caused by intestinal volvulus following magnetic toy ingestion.
abstract: An 8-year boy was admitted to the ER of one of Warsaw's pediatric hospitals with a history of having bloody vomiting the day before. During admission the boy collapsed and lost consciousness. CPR was unsuccessful. On medico-legal autopsy, two foreign objects (small magnetic spheres--0.5 cm in diameter) were found in two different places in the small and large intestines and were notably attracted magnetically one to another. A loop of approximately 1-m length with features of small intestinal hemorrhagic necrosis and small intestinal mechanical obstruction was found. The cause of death was intestinal volvulus and small intestinal mechanical obstruction caused by ingestion of foreign objects (two neodymium magnets). Most likely these small magnetic spheres were part of a popular toy, the safety of which, lately, has been widely discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, 002-007 Warsaw, 1 Oczki st, Poland.
authors.forename: Mieszko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olczak
authors.affiliation: Departament of Pathology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-004 Warsaw, 5 Chałubińskiego st, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skrzypek
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005547:Foreign Bodies; D006801:Humans; D045822:Intestinal Volvulus / Q000209:etiology*; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings
keywords: Ingested foreign object; Intestinal volvulus; Magnetic object; Magnetic toy; Neodymium magnets; Small intestine necrosis