Mandhan Parkash, Alsalihi Muthana, Mammoo Saleem, Ali Mansour J
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, P.O. Box 3050 Doha, Qatar.
Case Rep Pediatr. 2014;2014:908730. doi: 10.1155/2014/908730. Epub 2014 Apr 30.
Ingestion of foreign bodies in the pediatric population is common and magnet ingestion is known to cause a significant morbidity. Rare-earth magnets are small 3-6 mm diameter spherical powerful magnets that are sold as popular desk toys for adults and were previously found in construction toys in attractive colors for children to play with. We describe 2 young healthy children who ingested rare-earth magnets Buckyballs while playing with these magnetic toys and later presented in emergency with acute abdomen. Abdominal imaging revealed several (26 and 5) pieces of rare-earth magnets in the bowel loops. Emergency surgical exploration revealed multiple gastrointestinal perforations and fistula formation at sites of bowel entrapment in between strong magnets apposed to one another. We highlight the potential dangers of rare-earth magnets in children and suggest increasing public awareness about risks involved in rare-earth magnets ingestion by children to overcome this serious public health issue.
小儿吞食异物很常见，已知吞食磁体可导致严重发病。稀土磁体是直径3 - 6毫米的小型球形强力磁体，作为成人流行的桌面玩具出售，以前还在建筑玩具中发现，颜色鲜艳，可供儿童玩耍。我们描述了2名健康的幼儿，他们在玩这些磁性玩具时吞食了稀土磁体巴克球，后来因急腹症到急诊就诊。腹部影像学检查显示肠袢内有多个（26个和5个）稀土磁体。急诊手术探查发现，在相互靠近的强磁体之间的肠管卡压部位有多处胃肠道穿孔和瘘管形成。我们强调了稀土磁体对儿童的潜在危险，并建议提高公众对儿童吞食稀土磁体所涉风险的认识，以解决这一严重的公共卫生问题。
