Common accidents in children
Recently, the City Children's Hospital received baby H (11 years old, Lam Dong) in a state of suspected foreign body swallowing. Exploiting the medical history, the father was sleeping at noon when he heard his child crying, complaining in pain and pointing to the neck, next to the child were 5-6 tailor-made needles.
The child was taken to the clinic for an X-ray, and a needle-like foreign object was discovered in the digestive tract, then transferred to the City Children's Hospital.
At the hospital, the children were conscious and had stable vital signs. X-ray images show a needle-shaped foreign object about 4 cm long lying in the abdomen. Children with a history of mental Development are diagnosed 2 years ago.
The surgical team performed an esophagogastric endoscopy. The foreign object was a sewing needle that was safely removed.
Recorded at Children's Hospital 2, the unit regularly receives cases of children swallowing foreign objects such as magnetes, bamboo toothpicks, sharp metals, bloating, chamomile batteries, etc. These accidents often occur when children do not eat focused, play or watch their phones or TV. Bones such as chicken, duck or fish bones are also common causes.
Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Thach - Deputy Director of Children's Hospital 2 said that every year, the hospital receives more than 200 children hospitalized for digestive foreign bodies. Of which, about 30% require emergency endoscopy and 10% require surgery due to complications such as perforation or bloating.
For example, a 13-year-old girl in Lam Dong had to undergo emergency surgery to remove many foreign bodies from the chicken bones in the small intestine, in which a piece of bone had been punctured, causing peritoneal inflammation. The patient was admitted to the hospital with severe abdominal pain in the right area, vomiting for 4 days. The family said that children have the habit of eating quickly, not chewing thoroughly and often eat while watching TV or playing on the phone.
Preventing digestive foreign objects
According to Dr. CKII Le Duc Loc - Executive Doctor of the Department of Gastroenterology, Children's Hospital, swallowing foreign objects is a common accident in children, but is especially dangerous for children with mental illness because they have difficulty recognizing the risks.
Parents need to be especially careful and always observe children when playing. Do not keep small, sharp objects in the reach of children because they can be dangerous.
If you suspect that your child is swallowing a foreign object, you must take it immediately to a medical facility that can diagnose the image as soon as possible. Absolutely do not arbitrarily pick your throat or force your baby to vomit because it can cause more serious damage.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Thach, to prevent digestive foreign objects, parents should note that when feeding their children, they need to filter their bones thoroughly, eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and not laugh while eating to avoid choking on bones. Avoid the habit of eating, joking, laughing and watching the phone.
Parasite trapped in the esophagus can cause very serious complications such as perforation of the esophagus causing inflammation of the entire mediawest or life-threatening esophagus.
If the foreign object is still in the stomach when detected early, the doctor can intervene with an upper digestive endoscopy, less invasive. If detected late, the foreign object will go into the intestines, causing blockage or perforation, requiring surgery, with a high risk of complications and possibly life-threatening. Children after surgery may face the risk of intestinal sticking or recurrent intestinal obstruction.
