Management of foreign body ingestion and food impaction in adults: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

The management of food impaction and foreign body ingestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract requires careful evaluation and timely intervention. This study was a retrospective evaluation of the management of adult patients with such a history. This study included adult patients admitted to a tertiary medical center with foreign body ingestion or food impaction between January 2012 and January 2018. The demographic and clinical data were recorded pro forma for statistical analysis. Of the 122 patients included in this study, 53.2% were male, and the mean age was 46.68+-18.64 years. In 84 of the patients (68.8%), the ingested object was food. Thirty patients were managed solely through laryngoscopy, while 61 patients (50%) underwent a flexible endoscopy. The patients with a foreign body ingestion were older than those with a food impaction (mean age: 51.3+-17.4 vs. 36.5+-17.4 years; p<0.001) and a plain radiograph showed the ingested material more often in those patients (36.8% vs 10.7%; p<0.001). Two patients underwent surgery due to perforations caused by the impacted material. No mortality was observed. The management of a foreign body ingestion or food impaction in an emergency setting requires a stepwise, algorithmic approach.