Battery-related ED visits doubled last decade, study finds
Battery-related ED visits for children doubled from 2010 to 2019 compared with 1990 to 2009, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
Co-author Mark D. Chandler, MPH, is senior research associated at the Maryland-based Safe Kids Worldwide.
“My interest was piqued when I came across a study published a decade ago showing that every 3 minutes, a child visited the emergency room for a battery-related injury, and that cases had increased year-over-year between 2001 and 2009,” Chandler told Healio. “These were mostly ingestions among children aged 5 or younger, with button batteries predominating. Given efforts by Safe Kids Worldwide and others to increase parent awareness in the years since that article was published, I wanted to look at how things might have changed over the last decade.”
Chandler and colleagues conducted an analysis using data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission for battery-related ED visits among children aged younger than 18 years for the years 2010 to 2019. The researchers grouped patients into those aged 5 or younger and those aged between 6 and 17 years, then used diagnosis codes and information from the available text narrative to group the children into four exposure routes: ingestion (swallowed), mouth exposure without ingestion, nasal insertion and ear insertion.
Ultimately, the researchers found 70,322 battery-related ED visits among children during the study period, with button batteries implicated in 84.7% of visits where battery types were noted. A total of 90% of exposures in these visits were indigestion, followed by nasal insertion at 5.7%, ear insertion at 2.5% and mouth exposure at 1.8%.
“We were surprised to find that more children visited the ED for battery-related injuries between 2010 and 2019 than in the prior 2 decades combined, with increases being driven by children aged 5 years and under,” Chandler said.
The study was accompanied by a review article that examined vascular complications in children who ingested button batteries, the most common batteries mentioned in ED visits and often used in watches and toys, which Chandler’s study determined were the most common sources of batteries.
“Prolonged BB impaction is a risk factor for vascular complications and death,” the authors of the review wrote. “A high index of suspicion is required for children representing with hematemesis after BB impaction, with prompt transfer to a tertiary center because vascular surgical intervention may offer a chance of survival.”
The researchers concluded that despite injury prevention efforts, battery-related ED visits were increasingly common, and that new laws and safer battery designs are needed to reduce or eliminate battery-related injuries.
“We want to remind parents and caregivers that there are simple steps they can take to keep kids safe — including keeping button batteries and button battery-powered devices up and away from kids, properly disposing of unused batteries, and replacing devices that have damaged or easily-accessibly battery compartments,” Chandler said.
References:
Akinkugbe O, et al. Pediatrics. 2022;doi:10.1542/peds.2022-057477.
Chandler M, et al. Pediatrics. 2021;doi:10.1542/peds.2022.056709.