TITLE:
An impacted oesophageal foreign body in a physically abused child
AUTHORS:
Olushola Abdulrahman Afolabi, Adeyi Adogwu Adoga, Emmanuel Musa, Alfred Nicholas Bemu, Garba Mainasara Mohammed, Aliyu Mohammed Kodiya, Aminu Bakari, Babagana Mohammed Ahmad
KEYWORDS:
Child; Maltreatment; Impacted; Oesophageal Foreign Body; Assault
JOURNAL NAME:
Case Reports in Clinical Medicine,
Vol.2 No.4,
July
8,
2013
ABSTRACT: Physicians
under-report cases of child abuse or child maltreatment. We present a case of
an impacted oesophageal foreign body in a physically
abused child. S.H. is a 7-year-old male child
who accidentally ingested metal clip while being assaulted by his paternal
uncle whom he resides with. He presented with dysphagia, odynophagia and
drooling of saliva and urgent x-ray soft tissue neck revealing the presence
of the metallic foreign body in the prevertebral region. He had emergency
oesophagoscopy with the removal of foreign body, did well and was discharged
home 4th day postoperatively after parental counselling. It remains
the responsibility of paediatric healthcare providers to consider child maltreatment as a differential diagnosis of any unexplained injury or medical
problems, including oesophageal foreign body impaction.