Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on foreign body ingestion in children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Foreign body ingestions (FBI) are a common reason for emergency department (ED) visits in children. We hypothesized that increased time spent at home by children due to COVID-19 restrictions could contribute to a rise in FBI ingestion rate and severity. Our primary objective was to evaluate the number of FBI cases at a Canadian tertiary paediatric hospital in Montreal during the pandemic as compared to the two previous years.

Methods

Children assessed at CHU Sainte-Justine ED for FBI between March 2018-February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and March 2020-February 2021 (pandemic) were included. FBI ratio was calculated by dividing the number of FBI cases by the total number of ED visits. Differences between the two groups were analyzed by Student's t-test or Chi-sq

SUBMITTER: Dehbidi Assadzadeh L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12551744 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature