Latest news with #magnetingestion
Medscape
27-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
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.
Gizmodo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Gizmodo
Kids Around the World Are Still Swallowing Magnets at an Alarming Rate
Young children often put things in their mouths that they shouldn't. Even seemingly harmless objects, such as toys, could have components small enough for a baby to swallow—such as magnets. Despite an increase in regulations, thousands of children around the world are still swallowing magnets. In a sweeping international review, researchers from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) and UC Davis Health investigated pediatric magnet ingestion reports from around the world alongside their corresponding national policies addressing the issue. Their results indicate that children in the U.S. might be especially vulnerable. While the study was only able to analyze 23% of the world's countries, the researchers hope that their comparisons will inform regulatory policies moving forward. 'This data demonstrates that paediatric magnet ingestion is an international problem that must be addressed,' the researchers wrote in a study published today in the journal Injury Prevention. 'Every geographic area has different availability of products and types of restrictions in place, yet the problem remains the same: If magnets are accessible to children, some children will inevitably ingest them, leading to a wide range of severe consequences.' Children from around the world, especially under the age of four, are at risk of swallowing small, high-powered magnets found in household items like remotes, toys, and small appliances. While the researchers point out that swallowing a single magnet might not be problematic, swallowing more or swallowing one alongside a metallic object might necessitate invasive medical intervention. To get a better picture of global trends, the team studied papers published between 2002 and 2024 on the prevalence and consequences of children swallowing magnets up to the age of 18. Most of the 96 papers came from Asia, the Middle East, North America, Europe, Chile, Australia, Egypt, and Tunisia. The researchers also assessed any policies regarding magnet production, sales, and use in their countries. The average age of children swallowing magnets was between two and eight years old, and most children overall swallowed magnets from toys or school and office supplies, while at home, in nurseries, or in daycare. Many of the children needed medical interventions. The U.S. represents the highest number of incidents (23,756) though this might be because individuals from the U.S. report such cases more frequently than others. Several countries, including the U.S. and China, saw an increase in reported cases over time. It could also result from more accurate reporting or changes in magnet cost, marketing, availability, or regulations, the researchers say. On the topic of regulatory policies, the team found policies regarding pediatric magnet ingestion in only 10 countries or geopolitical zones: the U.S., Canada, the European Union, the U.K., France, the UAE, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The policies included (few) outright bans of small magnets, limits on magnet strength, and/or labelling regulations. 'Many countries still lack national policies aimed at limiting access to small, ingestible magnets, even countries with published incidence of morbidity and mortality from paediatric magnet ingestions,' the researchers explained. In the U.S., regulations keeping high-powered magnets out of the market were overturned in 2016, after which the number of pediatric magnet ingestion reports soared by 444% until 2022 when new—but still questionable—policies came into effect. Overall, the researchers argue that the true number of pediatric magnet ingestions is likely even higher than what they outline in their study, since many incidents that don't need medical intervention likely go undocumented. And while their study was 'limited by information availability,' the bottom line is that children are still swallowing magnets at a high rate. Fortunately, 'this data also provides some insight about potential solutions,' the researchers pointed out. 'Removal of magnets from the market is linked to a decreased incidence of injuries related to magnet ingestions and thus, such policies should be proposed, promoted and enforced.'
