The management of voluntary ingestion of razor blades by inmates

Abstract Introduction: Ingestion of sharp objects is a rare event. We report our experience in the care of prisoners who ingested razor blades as well as the in-time evolution of our management. Material and Methods: This is a descriptive study including all detainees ingesting razor blade, transferred from the prison to Farhat Hached University Hospital of Sousse, from January first,2014 to December 31st ,2015. Thus, we have counted 19 cases of swallowed razor blades in 16 prisoners; indeed, one prisoner had ingested a razor blade thrice and another had ingested a blade twice. Results: Our study includes 19 episodes of swallowed razor blades. In two cases, these events were secondary to suicide attempts. In the other cases, it was an expression of discontent and rejection of the situation in the prison. Three patients had a psychiatric history. The mean age of patients is 24 years. The initial clinical examination had not objectified signs of gastrointestinal perforation. Thoraco-abdomino-pelvic CT had a...