A swallowed watch (button) battery can cause fatal perforation with mediastinitis if lodged in the oesophagus. The need to removed urgently under general anaesthesia makes this a ‘timely’ emergency.
Button Batteries
Do you know?
- Melena suggests a proximal GI bleeding source in which there is time for enzymatic breakdown to transform blood to melena. How much blood in the stomach does it take to cause melena?
- What is a Morel-Lavallee lesion
- What is an Essex–Lopresti injury?
- What is the number one cause of fatal ingestions in children under 5 years of age (in the US)?
- What topical medication has been recently reported as a cause of methemoglobinemia in infants and children?
