title: The catheter hub disinfection cap as esophageal foreign body.
abstract: Disinfection caps are increasingly being used to prevent catheter-associated bloodstream infections. These devices, designed for continuous passive disinfection of catheter hubs, are typically small and often brightly colored. As such, they have the potential to become pediatric airway and esophageal foreign bodies. We report two patients who developed esophageal foreign body following ingestion of disinfection caps. Given the increasing use of these devices, it is imperative that health care providers be aware of this potential iatrogenic problem. We propose that the use of disinfection caps may not be appropriate in pediatric patients with risk factors for foreign body ingestion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Kareem O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Tawfik
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.|University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Myer
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Tasneem
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shikary
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.|Pain Management Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Goldschneider
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D055499:Catheter-Related Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004203:Disinfection / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D004947:Esophagus / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
keywords: Esophageal foreign body; catheter-associated bloodstream infection; continuous passive disinfection; disinfection cap; port protector