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

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Réanimation Chirurgicale Pédiatrique, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades, Assistance Publique- Hôpitaux de Paris, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris-Descartes, 149, Rue de Sèvres, 75743, Paris Cedex 15, France

    Mathieu Simonin, Irène D’Agostino, Olivier Jughon, Jamil Hamza & Mehdi Oualha

  2. Service de d’Oto-rhino-laryngologie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades, Assistance Publique- Hôpitaux de Paris, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris-Descartes, 149, Rue de Sèvres, 75743, Paris Cedex 15, France

    Mélanie Lebreton

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  1. Mathieu Simonin
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  2. Irène D’Agostino
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  3. Mélanie Lebreton
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  4. Olivier Jughon
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  5. Jamil Hamza
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  6. Mehdi Oualha
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Correspondence to Mehdi Oualha.

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Simonin, M., D’Agostino, I., Lebreton, M. et al. Bilateral vocal palsy following coin cell lithium battery ingestion: a case report and review. Eur J Pediatr 172, 991–993 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-012-1899-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-012-1899-x

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