Ingested foreign bodies are an increasingly common reason for emergency referral to gastroenterology and endoscopy teams, often out of hours. While the majority of ingested foreign bodies will pass through the GI tract uneventfully, some will not and some can lead to major morbidity and, rarely, death. While most gastroenterologists have experience of dealing with this scenario, there is little high quality evidence to guide clinicians on who needs emergency endoscopy, the optimum timing and best techniques for removal of foreign objects.
Watch Dr Ian Penman’s interview with Dr Francesca Moroni about his main talk on “Endoscopic foreign body removal –what you need to know”.
Useful Resources
- ESGE Clinical Guideline: Removal of foreign bodies in upper gastrointestinal tract in adults. 13638 1..8 (esge.com)
- Frontline Gastroenterology: Foreign body ingestion: Dos and Don’ts Foreign body ingestion: dos and don’ts (bsg.org.uk)
- Management of ingested foreign bodies in children: A clinical report of the NASPGHAN Endoscopy Committee Thomson (naspghan.org)
Biographies
Dr Ian Penman
Dr Penman is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He has specialist interests in interventional endoscopy, particularly EUS and the diagnosis and therapy of early upper GI / Barrett’s neoplasia. He is a previous Vice President, Endoscopy, British Society of Gastroenterology (2019-22), Editor of Davidson’s Principles & Practice of Medicine and Associate Editor of Frontline Gastroenterology.
Dr Francesca Moroni
Francesca is a Consultant Gastroenterologist in NHS Grampian since Jan 2021. She has special interest in nutrition and neurogastroenterology. She is the current BSG Mentoring Lead, former BSG Deputy Web Editor (Web Education Team) and current Digest This! Webinar Chief Editor. She is also BAPEN Scotland Chair.