title: A Fatal Case of Coin Battery Ingestion in an 18-Month-Old Child: Case Report and Literature Review.
abstract: The ingestion of extraneous substances is quite common in clinical practice; it usually befalls in the pediatric age, mostly between 6 months and 6 years. In most cases, complications do not emerge, and the prognosis is considered favorable. However, when a case of battery ingestion occurs, serious adverse events may develop. The ingestion of these components is a potential life-threatening event for children.In this article, we report the case of an 18-month-old child who died from hemorrhagic shock due to an aortoesophageal fistula caused by a 20 mm lithium button battery lodged in the esophagus.The child presented vomiting blood, and laboratory results revealed a severe anemization, which later led to death.The autopsy showed a coin battery located in the middle third of the esophagus as well as a transmural erosion of the esophageal wall with fistulization into the aortic wall. The histological examination revealed a severe necrosis of the esophageal and aortic walls in line with the junction between the aortic arch and the descending part.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Legal and Forensic Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy; †Legal Medicine Service, Canton of Ticino, Switzerland; and ‡Department of Public Health, Forensic and Experimental Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Candosin
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barranco
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonsignore
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Andrello
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tajana
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Osculati
mesh_terms: D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D011211:Electric Power Supplies / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004937:Esophageal Fistula / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D004947:Esophagus / Q000473:pathology; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009336:Necrosis; D012771:Shock, Hemorrhagic / Q000209:etiology*; D016157:Vascular Fistula / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology