Risk factors for injury due to button battery ingestion
Patient-related risk factors for injury due to button battery ingestion are:
- age younger than 5 years
- pre-existing gastrointestinal tract abnormalities that can prolong transit time or cause obstruction
- delayed presentation.
The degree of injury after button battery ingestion depends on the battery type and size, and the duration of exposure. More severe injury is likely with:
- lithium batteries
- batteries more than 20 mm diameter1
- impaction of batteries for longer than 2 hours
- multiple batteries
- co-ingestion of magnets with batteries.