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Battery Ingestion Overview

In recent years, our electronic toys and gadgets have become increasinglyminiaturized. Their power requirements are being met by a new generation of

compact, high-performance batteries. These disk batteries are small, pill- or coin-shaped devices that contain heavy metals such as zinc, mercury, silver, nickel,cadmium, and lithium. They also contain concentrated solutions ofcaustic electrolytes, usually potassium or sodium hydroxide. Their compact size andharmless appearance hide their true danger.

The danger comes when children and sometimes adults! knowingly or mistakenlyput these tiny batteries in their mouths and swallow them.

"ost swallowed batteries cause no problem.

• #atteries lodged in the esophagus the food pipe between mouth

and stomach! must be removed immediately. They cause damage

by their pressure against the wall of the esophagus, from leakage of

caustic alkali, and the electrical current they generate. In$ury can

occur in as short a time as one hour. %ull-thickness burns can occur

in four hours. #atteries passing through the esophagus usually pass

uneventfully through the entire digestive tract.

Battery Ingestion Causes

• &isk battery ingestion most commonly occurs in children younger

than ' years of age and in elderly people.

• (ommon scenarios of ingestion involve young children swallowing

their own hearing aid battery or eating batteries lying loose after they

were removed from a device. )ther times, the batteries are

mistaken for a pill and ingested.

• )ccasionally, people accidentally swallow a battery because they

hold it in their mouth when changing a watch battery. )nly a very

small number of people intend to commit suicide by ingesting disk

batteries.

Battery Ingestion Symptoms

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#attery ingestion may not be obvious or symptomatic until harmful conditionsdevelop. Thus, medical history and *-ray findings become exceedingly important fordiagnosis.

The person who has swallowed a disk battery may have one or more symptoms.

• +omiting

• etching gagging!

•  bdominal pain

• ow-grade fever 

• Irritability

• /ersistent drooling

• &ifficulty breathing if the battery is blocking the airway

• ash from nickel metal allergy

• &ark or bloody stools

 lthough mercury-containing cells tend to fragment, no clinical cases of mercurypoisoning have been reported. 0igns of mercury poisoning are lethargy, excitement,rash in the perineal1diaper  region, or tremors.

When to Seek Medical Care for Battery Ingestion

#attery ingestion is a medical emergency. /roceed to the nearest hospital

emergency department.

Battery Ingestion Facts

• adiographic studies of the entire digestive system may be taken.

&isk batteries have a characteristic double-density two-layer!

shadow on *-rays. aterally, their edges are rounded, and they

contain a step-off $unction at the positive and negative terminal. This

can help distinguish them from coins and buttons.

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• If a battery is located in the esophagus food pipe!, immediate

removal is necessary.

Battery Ingestion Self-Care at ome

The most prudent home treatment for someone who has swallowed a disk battery isto give nothing by mouth and to go to the nearest hospital emergency department. Ifit will not delay going to the emergency department, bring a sample of the batteryingested. ll disk batteries contain an imprinted code that can be used to identifymanufacturer, the battery2s actual size, and its contents.

• If no battery can be found, then bring the device from which the

battery was removed.

• The 3ational #utton #attery Ingestion 4otline 565! 75'-8888 may

be consulted for battery identification and emergency instructions.

•  lthough antacids helped to prevent disk batteries from leaking in

animal models, the dosage required in children would be too much.

 void medicines like ipecac, which promote vomiting. #atteries that

have safely passed into the stomach can be forced back into the

esophagus.

Battery Ingestion !reatment

Immediate removal of the battery may be indicated in the following cases9

• If *-rays show the battery is located in the esophagus food pipe!

• If the person develops symptoms such as abdominal pain or

vomiting blood. "inor changes in stool color or minor vomiting arenot indications for removal.

• If the battery is large :'.7 mm or bigger! and the child is younger

than 7 years of age and the battery does not pass through the

stomach within ;< hours

#attery removal will likely be accomplished with an endoscope. n endoscope is aflexible fiber optic scope with ports for grasping devices to be passed through it. This

scope is passed through the mouth and into the esophagus and stomach.

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• =ndoscopy allows for battery removal and visual inspection of the

esophagus for damage. If an endoscope is not available, removal by

other means may be attempted.

• Transit time for disk batteries through the digestive tract ranges from

:5 hours to :; days. The ma$ority of cells are passed in the stool

within >5 hours. t home, strain stools for passage of the battery.

• Infrequent abdominal *-rays should be taken to confirm forward

progression of the battery.

• If the battery contains mercury and is found to have fragmented

viewed by an *-ray!, blood and urine mercury levels are necessary."edication to lower mercury levels should be used only when

abnormal levels are found.

Battery Ingestion "revention

• #atteries should be stored in childproof containers. In the ma$ority of 

battery ingestion incidents involving children, the battery is found

loose.

• #attery compartments on toys and gadgets should be properly

secured and taped shut. )ne third of ingestion incidents in children

occurred after the child removed batteries from a consumer product.

• =lderly people should never store disk batteries in pillboxes or set

them out with medications. Their shape and size make them easily

mistaken for medication.

• ?hen changing a battery, never hold batteries in the mouth.

Battery Ingestion "rognosis

%or the ma$ority of cases of disk battery ingestion, conservative therapy is all that isneeded. The battery will pass on its own.

•   disk battery lodged in the esophagus is rare. )nly two cases of

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• ?hen a battery narrows or blocks the esophagus,

severe bleeding or abnormal passages from the esophagus to other

organs may occur. ll can be aided by surgery, but outcomes can be

severe.

• 4eavy metal poisoning, while theoretically possible, has not been

clinically reported.

Battery Ingestion "ictures

 

 n endoscope.

 

0everal disk batteries with a penny for size reference.

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"edscapeeference. &isk #attery Ingestion

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 3/1/2016 

"edical uthor9@enneth I 0teinberg, &)

(oauthor9

#eth ongenecker, &)

"edical =ditor9

?illiam (. 0hiel Ar., "&, %(/, %(

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