Association between the corrosion of ingested lithium button battery in the esophagus and its complications in pediatric patients

Purpose: The incidence of lithium button battery ingestion has been increasing recently, which results in severe complications. We aimed to demonstrate the association between the corrosion of lithium button batteries in the esophagus on radiographs and their complications.

Methods: The nine pediatric patients included in this study were classified into two groups based on the presence of severe complications. The presence and degree of corrosion on plain radiographs were evaluated. The degree of corrosion was classified into the following three grades; none: 0%; moderate: 1-50%; severe: 51-100%. Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analyses.

Results: Of the nine patients, five showed complications. The number of patients who had grade none, moderate, and severe degrees of corrosion was three, four, and two, respectively. The incidence of severe complications differed significantly between the incidence of lithium button batteries' contour (without vs. with severe complications [presence/absence of corrosion] = 1/3 vs. 5/0, respectively; P = 0.0476). In cases with "none" degree of corrosion, all three cases had no complication, and in cases with a "severe" degree of corrosion, all two cases had complications.

Conclusion: The cases with the presence of corrosion of lithium button batteries had a higher tendency to have severe complications. Therefore, physicians should anticipate the presence of severe complications in pediatric patients with corrosion more than those without corrosion.