Button battery exposures in Australian children: a prospective observational study highlighting the role of poisons information centres.

AbstractContext: Button battery ingestion is a worldwide problem, with evidence of increasing harms and deaths in recent decades. Australian Poisons Information Centre (PIC) experience includes cases of treatment delay due to lack of healthcare professional recognition of risks, and/or lack of local resources. This study aims to characterise Australian button battery exposures, focusing on exposure circumstances, and preventable health system shortcomings.Methods: A prospective observational study of button battery exposure calls to New South Wales PIC, November 2015–May 2017, using a follow-up survey to obtain outcome data and additional details. Survey data was combined with nationwide PIC data over the same period.Results: Australian PICs were consulted on 578 exposures over the 19-month study period, including 506 paediatric cases. The median (IQR) age for the paediatric cases was 23 months (14–36 months). Where the source was identified, batteries came from toys in 26% of cases, with hearing aids, wa...