Doctors Warn of Magnet Ingestion Rise in UK Children
Swallowed magnets led to the hospitalisation of at least 300 children in the UK in a single year, with some requiring life-changing surgery, according to recent research led by the University of Southampton.
The study, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood , found that some children had ingested magnets whilst pursuing social media trends to imitate tongue piercings.
Researchers urged parents to take children who are known or suspected to have swallowed magnets to an accident and emergency department immediately.
Study Findings Reveal Widespread Problem
Between May 2022 and April 2023, researchers documented 314 cases of magnet ingestion in children under 16 years across 66 UK hospitals. The true figure is likely to be much higher, as the data represents only a portion of UK hospitals.
Children had a median age of 8.7 years, yielding an incidence rate of at least 2.4 per 100,000 UK children.
A number of studies in Europe and North America have observed an increase in magnet ingestions recently, the researchers noted. This marks the first comprehensive study to investigate the incidence and circumstances surrounding magnet ingestion in the UK.
Toys Emerge as Primary Culprits
Toys, including magnetic ball sets and fake piercings, accounted for 38% of magnet sources. Parents or caregivers purchased 19% of the products involved.
Social media directly influenced 6% of ingestions, mostly among girls replicating tongue piercings. Magnet ingestions occurred most frequently among children in the lowest deprivation decile. Children with autism diagnoses were over-represented in the sample.
Clinical Outcomes and Interventions
Most children (75%) were asymptomatic following ingestion. Single magnet ingestions did not cause magnet-related injury, but risks increased with multiple magnets and delayed presentation.
Half of all cases involved multiple magnets. Up to half of children who ingested multiple magnets required endoscopic or surgical intervention.
Magnet-related injuries occurred in 23 cases (7%) but affected 14% of children who had swallowed more than one magnet. Surgery was undertaken in 32 children (10%), with one in 10 experiencing significant morbidity, including bowel resection and stoma formation.
The presence of clinical features at presentation was associated with a fourfold higher risk of magnet-related injury.
Expert Warnings Highlight Severity
In an accompanying editorial, Dhanya Mullassery, consultant in paediatric and neonatal surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, described the increase in magnet injuries as occurring at 'an alarming rate'.
She highlighted that although most children in the study did not present with clinical symptoms or signs, there was evidence of injury in 23% of asymptomatic patients.
Multiple magnet ingestions can cause major complications including perforations of the oesophagus, stomach, and small or large bowel, resulting in mediastinitis or peritonitis. Fistulae can form between sections of the gastrointestinal tract, potentially leading to fulminant and fatal sepsis, she warned. Secondary procedures may also be needed for postoperative bowel obstruction due to adhesions or volvulus.
A 2021 study in the same journal showed a fivefold increase in the incidence of magnet ingestion across four tertiary paediatric surgical centres in the UK between 2016 and December 2020, with 42% of patients requiring laparoscopy or laparotomy.
Warning on Super-strength Ball Magnets
University of Cambridge research published in 2022 demonstrated that ball magnets — tiny, strong, rare-earth magnets, often brightly coloured and found in toys — can rapidly result in life-threatening bowel injuries. Out of 53 children admitted to hospital with ball magnet ingestion, just over half (51%) required operative intervention, usually laparotomy.
Katrina Phillips, chief executive of the Child Accident Prevention Trust, reported magnetic toys with flux readings of 850, which is 17 times higher than the legal limit of 50.
'These super strong magnets can rip through a child's guts and leave them with life-changing injuries', she said. 'One boy has died.'
Study lead author Nigel Hall, professor of paediatric surgery at the University of Southampton, said retailers must increase warnings on magnetic toy labels.
'These magnets have potential to harm a large number of children,' he said in a press release. 'Yet many magnetic toys provide very little warning for parents and caregivers of the dangers they pose, particularly those purchased from online marketplaces.'
Call for Coordinated Action
The UK currently lacks legislation or policy regulating or restricting strong earth magnets in products accessible to children.
Mullassery said: 'Public health messaging on a national scale is imperative to increase awareness of parents, carers, and medical professionals of the significant risks associated with the ingestion of these dangerous magnets.'
The researchers concluded that greater public awareness of the dangers of magnet ingestion is needed, noting that point-of-sale warnings appear insufficient. They called for coordinated efforts by healthcare professionals, government agencies, and relevant charity groups to influence regulations on high-power magnet product sales.
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