NBIH Button Battery Ingestion Triage and Treatment Guideline
Adapted from
Litovitz
T, Whitaker N, Clark L, White NC, Marsolek M: Emerging battery ingestion
hazard: Clinical implications. Pediatrics 2010;125(6): 1168-1177. epub 24
May 2010.
Revised 7 May 2013 to incorporate new
information that perforations and fistulas may be delayed up to 28 days
after removal of a battery from the esophagus.
Guideline from the National Battery Ingestion
Hotline at the National Capital Poison Center.
©National Capital Poison Center, 2009.
Print version of battery ingestion triage and treatment guideline
Battery Ingestion
Triage and Treatment Guideline (text version)
Suspect the diagnosis:
Most serious battery ingestions are not witnessed.
Consider the possibility of a battery ingestion in every patient with airway
obstruction; wheezing; drooling; vomiting; chest pain or discomfort;
abdominal pain; difficulty swallowing; decreased appetite or refusal to eat;
or coughing, choking or gagging with eating or drinking. Suspect a battery
ingestion in every presumed “coin” or other foreign body ingestion.
Carefully observe for the battery’s double-rim or halo-effect on AP
radiograph or step off on the lateral view.
If battery ingestion is suspected:
1)
Keep patient NPO until an esophageal battery position is ruled out by
x-ray. Anesthesia may be required for removal. Do not induce vomiting.
2)
If the patient is asymptomatic, take up to 5 minutes to determine the
imprint code from a companion or
replacement battery, battery packaging, or product instructions. If no
imprint code is available, measure or estimate the diameter based on the
size of the slot the battery fits in or the size of a comparable battery. To
estimate the battery diameter, compare the battery with a U.S. penny (19 mm)
and nickel (21 mm).
3)
Consult the National Battery Ingestion Hotline at 202-625-3333 for
assistance in battery identification and patient management.
4)
If the patient is ≤ 12 years, immediately obtain an x-ray to
locate the battery. Batteries lodged in the esophagus may cause serious
burns in as little as 2 hours. Do not wait for symptoms to develop.
Patients with a battery in the esophagus may be asymptomatic initially. The
20 mm diameter lithium coin cell, with a diameter intermediate between a
U.S. penny and nickel, is most frequently involved in esophageal injuries.
Smaller cells lodge less frequently, but may also cause serious injury or
death.
5)
If the patient is > 12 years and the battery diameter is > 12 mm or
unknown, immediately obtain an x-ray to locate the battery.
6)
If the patient is > 12 years and the ingested battery is ≤ 12 mm, no
x-ray to locate the battery is required if all of the following
conditions are met:
a.
The patient is entirely asymptomatic and has been asymptomatic
since the battery was ingested.
b.
Only one battery was ingested
c.
A magnet was not also ingested.
d.
The battery has been reliably identified based on imprint code
or measurement of an identical cell, and the diameter is < 12 mm.
Definitive determination of the battery diameter prior to passage is
unlikely in at least 40% of ingestions. Assume hearing aid batteries are
less than 12 mm.
e.
There is no history of pre-existing esophageal disease.
f.
The patient (or caregiver) is reliable, mentally competent, and
agrees to report symptoms that develop prior to battery passage, or over the
subsequent month if passage is not documented, and understands the
importance of promptly seeking evaluation for symptoms possibly related to
the ingested battery.
7)
X-rays obtained to locate the battery should include the entire
esophagus, neck and abdomen. Batteries located above the range of the x-ray
have been missed, as have batteries assumed to be coins or cardiac monitor
electrodes. Obtain both AP and lateral x-rays for batteries in the
esophagus to determine orientation of the positive and negative poles. On
the lateral film, the step-off is on the negative side of the battery. (The
negative pole has a slightly smaller diameter, fitting within the battery
can which forms the positive pole.) Anticipate complications based on
battery position and orientation. Damage will be more severe in tissue
adjacent to the negative pole.
8)
Immediately remove batteries lodged in the esophagus. Serious
burns can occur in 2 hours. Do not delay removal because a patient has eaten
recently. Endoscopic removal is preferred as it allows direct visualization
of tissue injury. Inspect the mucosa surrounding the battery to determine
the extent, depth, and location of tissue damage. Note the orientation of
the battery in the esophagus: is the negative pole (side without the “+” and
without the imprint) facing anteriorly or posteriorly? If possible, avoid
pushing an esophageal battery into the stomach as the risk of esophageal
perforation may increase.
9)
After removing a battery from the esophagus, if mucosal injury was
present, observe for delayed complications such as tracheoesophageal
fistula, esophageal perforation, mediastinitis, vocal cord paralysis,
tracheal stenosis or tracheomalacia, aspiration pneumonia, empyema, lung
abscess, pneumothorax, spondylodiscitis, or exsanguination from perforation
into a large vessel.
a.
Determine the length of observation, duration of esophageal rest, and
need for serial imaging or endoscopy/bronchoscopy based on the severity and
location of the injury, anticipating specific complications based on the
injury location, battery position and orientation. Consider the proximity
of the lodged battery to major arteries. Monitor patients at risk of
fistulization into blood vessels carefully, as inpatients, with serial imaging and
stool guaiacs. Intervene early if perforation is imminent. Monitor for
respiratory symptoms, especially with swallowing, to diagnose
tracheoesophageal fistulas early.
b.
Expect esophageal perforations and fistulas involving the trachea or
major vessels may be delayed for up to 28 days post removal and esophageal
strictures may not manifest for weeks to months post ingestion.
10)
Retrieve batteries, endoscopically if possible, from the stomach or
beyond if:
a.
A magnet was also ingested,
b.
The patient develops signs or symptoms that are likely related to the
battery ingestion, or
c.
A large battery (≥15 mm diameter), ingested by a child younger than 6
years, remains in the stomach for 4 days or longer. If battery diameter is
unknown, estimate if from the x-ray, factoring out magnification (which
tends to overestimate battery diameter).
11)
Allow batteries to pass spontaneously if they have passed beyond the
esophagus and no clinical indication of significant gastrointestinal injury
is evident. Manage the patient at home on a regular diet. Encourage
activity. Avoid unnecessary endoscopic or surgical removal in asymptomatic
patients. Promptly re-evaluate all patients who develop signs or symptoms
possibly related to the battery. Endoscopic removal of batteries still in
the stomach should be pursued for even minor symptoms. For batteries beyond
the reach of the endoscope, surgical battery removal may be required in the
unusual patients with evidence of occult or visible bleeding, abdominal
pain, profoundly decreased appetite, vomiting, signs of an acute abdomen,
and/or fever, unless these clinical manifestations are clearly unrelated to
the battery. Confirm battery passage by inspecting stools. Consider repeat
radiographs to confirm passage if passage not observed in 10-14 days.
Confirming passage may avoid urgent diagnostic intervention for minor
symptoms developing later.
12)
Manage ingestion of a hearing aid containing a battery as an
ingestion of a small battery (≤ 12 mm).
13)
Avoid these ineffective, unnecessary or unproven therapeutic
interventions:
a.
Ipecac administration (ineffective).
b.
Blind battery removal with a balloon catheter or a magnet affixed to
a nasogastric tube (can’t determine extent of injury).
c.
Blood or urine concentrations of mercury or other battery ingredients
(unnecessary).
d.
Chelation (unnecessary).
e.
Laxatives (ineffective) or polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution
(unproven effectiveness and unknown if solution enhances electrolysis).
Reference:
Litovitz
T, Whitaker N, Clark L, White NC, Marsolek M: Emerging battery ingestion
hazard: Clinical implications. Pediatrics 2010;125(6): 1168-1177. epub 24
May 2010. | 
