Button battery ingestion in children—a potentially catastrophic event of which all radiologists must be aware

Abstract

Foreign body ingestion is common in infants and young children and can cause numerous complications, mainly if ingested for prolonged periods. In recent years particular dangers specifically from ingested button batteries have become increasingly recognized as a public health issue. Of particular note is the rapid onset of full thickness burns and oesophageal perforation which may occur within as little as 2 h following the ingestion of button batteries. The aim of this review is twofold:(1) to increase awareness of the need for very rapid action from radiologists, emergency care physicians and paediatricians on identifying a button battery impacted within the oesophagus in particular, and (2) to review the imaging appearances that can distinguish button batteries from other similar appearing foreign bodies, most notably coins.