Post-extraction management of esophageal button battery injuries in children: A scoping review of imaging, ICU admission, and NPO practices.

BACKGROUND

Esophageal button battery impactions are pediatric emergencies with clear guidelines for pre-extraction management, but post-extraction care remains highly variable. Common practices include ICU admission, prolonged NPO, antibiotics, and extensive imaging, though the supporting evidence is unclear.

METHODS

We performed a scoping review, searching PubMed, Embase, and Scopus for pediatric esophageal button battery injuries reporting post-extraction management. Variables included imaging strategy and impact, ICU admission, feeding practices, and complications. Case reports, case series, and retrospective cohorts were included. Variables included imaging strategy and impact, ICU admission, feeding practices, and complications. Case reports, case series, and retrospective cohorts were included.

RESULTS

Of 37 studies with 713 patients, complications included 47 esophageal perforations, 37 tracheoesophageal fistulas, 28 esophageal strictures, 26 mediastinitis, 23 esophageal stenoses, 11 vocal cord injuries, 4 aortoesophageal fistulas, and 3 deaths. Post-extraction imaging was reported in 83.8 % of studies with 610 patients; esophagram was most common. In studies that reported imaging details, imaging influenced postoperative management in 12/23 studies using esophagram, 5/12 studies using CXR, 4/6 studies using CT, and 2/3 studies using MRI/MRA. (These were study-level proportions as patient-level counts could not be consistently extracted and modalities overlapped).Time to feeding ranged from 1 h to 233 days via multiple routes. Among 24 studies with known timing, 12/18 resuming <7 days and 2/6 resuming ≥7 days reported morbidity or mortality. Antibiotics were explicitly given in 24 studies.

CONCLUSION

Routine ICU admission, prolonged NPO, universal antibiotics, and multi-modality imaging are not standard after esophageal button battery removal. We propose a risk-stratified framework for imaging, ICU use, and feeding that reserves advanced imaging, ICU level care, and delayed feedings for patients at highest risk for complications based on their presentation and injury severity.