Introduction:
Disk Battery Ingestion (DBI) is a cause of access to the emergency department (ED), especially in pediatric
age. This problem, if not well managed, may lead to serious injuries, with several complications involving the gastrointestinal and
respiratory tract.
Objective:
Aim of this review is to analyze the literature of the last 25 years to make a decisional flow-chart that may help the emergency physician.
Methods:
For this review 36 articles have been analyzed (8 articles and 28 case reports), from 1995 to 2019. Data considered from
each study were: year of publication, type of study, population studied, type of battery, timing of ingestion, treatment, outcomes,
complications.
Results:
A decisional flow-chart has been configured. X-ray should be performed as a first step in every stable patient, meanwhile CT
scan should be performed in unstable patients. When the battery is still localized in the esophagus, endoscopy should be performed as
soon as possible, meanwhile, when the battery is beyond the esophagus, it should be noted its diameter before taking a decision.
Conclusion:
The use of the flow-chart proposed may reduce the risk of consequences and severe injuries for the patients, helping the
emergency physician in his decisional process.
