Case Report of a Sharp-Pointed Foreign Body Ingested by a Child: How Long to Wait Before Surgical Intervention?

Foreign body (FB) ingestion is one of the most common and challenging scenarios encountered in an Emergency Department. The incidence varies in different centers. They may be blunt objects, sharp-pointed objects, magnets, food boluses, and disk batteries. Most FBs pass spontaneously through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but the management of pointed, sharp FBs remains controversial. The relation between the length and width of sharp-pointed FBs and the mode of management remains questionable. In this case report, we discuss the management of a toddler who accidentally ingested an iron nail. We reviewed the existing literature and guidelines to find out the management of sharp-pointed foreign body ingestion in children.