Korean J Gastrointest Endosc.  1997 Dec;17(6):801-805.

Rescue of Child with Accidental Overingestion of Iron Tablets by Gastroscope

• Choe BH
• Nho US

Abstract

Iron overdose is one of the most common, potentially fatal intoxication in children. We rescued a 3-year-old girl who ingested about 20 iron tablets(110 mg/kg of elemental iron) with early endoscopic intervention. The stomach showed diffusc hemorrhagic gastritis with large amount of retained corrosive iron material. Removal of iron tablets was performed successfully by gastroscope with condom attached on its tip and she recovered completely without any sequelae. The severity of the endoscopic findings even in the early stage and the uneventful clinical recovery in our patient strongly support that this approach could be tried before traditional methods. We think that gastroscopy can be both diagnostic and therapeutic tool in acute drug intoxication in children, because of its safety and easy, rapid availability.

Keyword

Iron; Overdose; Intoxication; Gastroscope; Child

MeSH Terms

Child*
Child, Preschool
Condoms
Female
Gastritis
Gastroscopes*
Gastroscopy
Humans
Iron*
Stomach
Tablets*
Iron
Tablets