Batteries, especially button batteries, commonly used in electronic devices, may cause severe injury in children when ingested, often with devastating consequences. A study from the United States, published in the journal Pediatrics, has shown that the incidence of children visiting the emergency department (ED) due to battery-related injuries have significantly increased, more so among children below the age of 5 years.¹

In this study, Chandler et al examined ED visits in the US from 2010 to 2019 using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. All battery-related visits among children aged 18 years and younger were categorized according to the route of injury as ingestion, mouth exposure, insertion in the nose and insertion in the ear. The mean age was 3.2 years.

There were 7032 battery-related ED visits every year (9.5 per 100 000 children) during the study period i.e., from 2010 to 2019 showing that these injuries had doubled from the number reported from 1990 to 2009. A statistically significant increase was noted between 2010 and 2017 (p = .03). Majority (84.7%) of these visits, where battery type was mentioned, were because of button batteries.

The highest visit rate was among children aged 5 years and younger compared to those in the 6 to 17 years age group; 24.5 and 2.2 per 100 000 children, respectively. The one-year-old children had the highest ED visit rates. About 12% of all patients needed hospitalization. The odds of hospital admission was 1.65 times higher among children aged 6-17 years versus those aged ≤5 years.

The most common route of injury was ingestion (90%). Nasal insertions accounted for ~6% of ED visits, ear insertions 2.5% and mouth exposures 1.8%.

Watches were the most common source of batteries (29.7%) as were toys (28.8%). The other sources were hearing aids (10.4%), remote controls (9.8%), flashlights (6.4%) and all other products (14.9%).

By demonstrating a significant increase in battery-related ED visits among children over the years, this study highlights the urgent need for more regulatory actions and safer battery designs to prevent or reduce injury in children due to batteries.

Reference

1. Mark D Chandler, et al. Pediatric battery-related emergency department visits in the United States: 2010-2019. Pediatrics. 2022 Sep 1;150(3):e2022056709. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-056709.