The management of ingested foreign bodies: report of 82 cases and review of the literature

The ingestion of foreign bodies is a rather frequent occurrence in our context; ingestion may be accidental or deliberate. They can be dangerous because of their location or nature, making endoscopic extraction urgent. The aim of our study was to evaluate, using a retrospective study, the success rate of extraction of foreign bodies in our context as well as the means used. Over a ten-year period (January 2001 to January 2011), all patients admitted to the emergency services of UHC Hassan-II, Fez, for the ingestion of foreign bodies were recorded. We reviewed the methods used for extraction and the treatment success rate. During this period, 82 oesogastroduodenal endoscopies (OGDE) were performed for the extraction of foreign bodies. There was a male predominance (sex ratio: 1.5), with an average age of 33.5 years (6 to 83 years); all endoscopies were performed in an emergency. Voluntary ingestion was found in 24 cases while 58 cases were accidental. Among foreign bodies frequently encountered, there were needles in 17 cases, impaction of a piece of meat in 14 cases, ingestion of dentures in 11 cases, while other objects (coins, razor blades, nails, nail cutters) were less frequent. The foreign body was found in 32 cases at a gastric level, an oesophageal level for 31 patients, the duodenum for two patients and no foreign body was found for 14 patients. The extraction was done mainly by a hot wire loop and tripod forceps procedure; extraction was a success in 43 cases (52.4%), a foreign body was not found in 17 cases (20.7%), and the extraction failed in 13 cases (16%). No complication after extraction was noted in our context.