Bilateral vocal palsy following coin cell lithium battery ingestion: a case report and review.

UNLABELLED: Button battery ingestion in children is not a rare occurrence and may be unwitnessed and can be soon life-threatening or responsible for severe sequelae. We report herein an original history of previously healthy 16-month-old boy with an unwitnessed and misdiagnosis of lithium cell coin battery ingestion which leads to bilateral vocal palsy. The patient underwent a unilateral posterior cordotomy and was successfully extubated.

CONCLUSION

Early recognition of a lithium cell coin battery for rapid removal, even if insufficient at first, is the main condition to limit complications. Unusual upper respiratory distress in a young child should alert practitioners in performing a chest and neck X-ray without undue delay.