Diagnosis and Management of a Postpyloric Foreign Body Causing Small Bowel Obstruction in an Infant

Victoria Bradford; Marissa Vadi; Harmony Carter

doi:10.1177/1179547617719249

Diagnosis and Management of a Postpyloric Foreign Body Causing Small Bowel Obstruction in an Infant

Clin Med Insights Case Rep. 2017 Jul 5:10:1179547617719249. doi: 10.1177/1179547617719249. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Victoria Bradford¹, Marissa Vadi^{2

3}, Harmony Carter^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of New Mexico Children's Hospital, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
² School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
³ Department of Anesthesiology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.

Abstract

Foreign body ingestion is a common occurrence in the pediatric population and most ingestions resolve with little morbidity. Although radiopaque objects are easily identified on biplane radiographs, radiolucent objects may elude detection, delaying diagnosis. We report a case of a healthy 10-month-old infant who presented with a 5-day history of postprandial vomiting and imaging consistent with small bowel obstruction. On exploratory laparotomy, she was discovered to have a postpyloric foreign body requiring removal through an enterotomy.

Keywords: Foreign body ingestion; pediatrics; small bowel obstruction.

Publication types

Case Reports