JOURNAL ARTICLE
MULTICENTER STUDY
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Management and Outcomes of Button Batteries in the Aerodigestive Tract: A Multi-institutional Study.

Laryngoscope 2021 January
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To describe the clinical presentation, management, and complications associated with button battery impaction in the aerodigestive tract in children.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series.

METHODS: This multi-institutional study, endorsed by the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology research consortium, is a retrospective medical record review, including all children at five tertiary-care institutions presenting with button batteries impacted in the aerodigestive tract between January 2002 and December 2014. Battery type/size, duration and location of impaction, presenting symptoms, treatment, complications, and outcomes were examined.

RESULTS: Eighty-one patients were included (64.2% male), with ingestion witnessed in 20 (24.7%). Median age at presentation was 3 years (range, 1 week-14 years). Median time from diagnosis to removal was 2.5 hours (range, 0.4-72 hours). Locations included the esophagus (n = 48), hypopharynx (n = 1), stomach (n = 6), nasal cavity (n = 22), and ear canal (n = 4). Most common symptoms for esophageal/hypopharyngeal impactions included dysphagia (26.5%), nausea/vomiting (26.5%), drooling (24.5%), cough (18.4%), and fever (18.4%). Most common symptoms for nasal impactions included epistaxis (54.6%), rhinorrhea (40.9%), nasal pain (27.3%), and fever (22.7%). Almost all esophageal impactions were from 3-V (89.5%), 20-mm (81.8%) lithium batteries. Severe esophageal complications included stricture (28.6%), perforation (24.5%), tracheoesophageal fistula formation (8.2%), pneumothorax (4.1%), and bilateral true vocal fold paresis (4.1%). Nasal complications included necrosis (59.1%), septal perforation (27.3%), and saddle nose deformity (4.5%). Duration of impaction correlated with an increased likelihood of persistent symptoms only for nasal batteries (P = .049).

CONCLUSIONS: Button batteries in the upper pediatric aerodigestive tract or ear canal should be considered a surgical emergency, requiring urgent removal and careful vigilance for complications.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E298-E306, 2021.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app