What Did This 5-Year-Old Girl Ingest?

AFFILIATIONS:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio

CITATION:
Bullard DS. What did this 5-year-old girl ingest? Consultant.2023;63(6):e3. doi:10.25270/con.2023.01.000002

Received November 21, 2022. Accepted January 4, 2023. Published online January 4, 2023.

DISCLOSURES:
The author reports no relevant financial relationships.

CORRESPONDENCE:
David S. Bullard, MD, MEd, MetroHealth Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, 2500 MetroHealth Drive, Cleveland, OH 44109 (dbullard@metrohealth.org)

A healthy 5-year-old girl presented to the emergency department (ED) with her mother. The child stated that she swallowed something metal earlier that day.

Physical examination. The patient had no stridor or wheezing and had been eating and drinking without difficulty. She denied any abdominal pain or vomiting. Her vital signs were: BP 92/61, P 82, R 20, and T 97.7°F. The child was cooperative during the exam and without abdominal tenderness.

Diagnostic testing. The patient underwent an abdominal x-ray (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Abdominal x-ray

Answer and discussion on next page.