Alkaline disc battery ingestion in Children: A special hazard

Foreign body ingestion by a child is not an uncommon occurrence. Alkaline disc battery presents special hazards because of its small size, rounded shape and chemical composition. A total of 154 cases of foreign body ingestion were documented in five year long study. Out of these 9(5.85%) children had ingested alkaline disc batteries. One (1.12%) could be removed endoscopically from oesophagous. Two (22.23%) boys underwent laparotomy as the battery cases were broken. Rest of the 6 (66.66%) could be treated conservatively. In two cases (22.23%) laxative use enhanced the process of recovery. Emphasis is made on the careful follow up approach for this benign but potentially dangerous condition in contrast to a more radical approach propagated by many.