2024 Volume 60 Issue 1 Pages 32-37
Purpose: We experienced treating two cases of intestinal obstruction caused by the accidental ingestion of superabsorbent polymer beads (SAPBs) in 1-year-old children. We conducted two experiments on their size change to understand the characteristics of SAPBs and examine the possibility of conservative treatment for patients who swallowed them accidentally.
Method: Experiment 1: SAPBs were immersed in ten different solutions with pHs ranging from 4 to 13, and six other different solutions, namely, saline, cola, milk, undiluted gastrografin (GGF), triple-diluted GGF, and ionic beverage, and the changes in the size of the SAPBs were measured. Experiment 2: SAPBs sufficiently expanded with tap water were then immersed in six different solutions, namely, undiluted GGF, double-diluted GGF, triple-diluted GGF, saline, milk, and ionic beverage, and the changes in the size of the SAPBs were measured.
Results: Experiment 1: SAPBs expanded faster in the pH 7 solution and cola, and slower in the pH 4 solution and undiluted GGF. Their expansion speed and the maximum size of SAPBs were generally correlated. Experiment 2: SAPBs in undiluted GGF shrank the most, and those in double-diluted GGF shrank as much as those in the other solutions. SAPBs in all solutions reached a trough in size after 12 hours of immersion.
Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that undiluted GGF may effectively prevent or reverse the massive expansion of ingested SAPBs. Although contrast administration for bowel obstruction is controversial and does not necessarily prevent surgeries, our results may help develop a new mitigation strategy that leads to the nonsurgical treatment of cases of intestinal obstruction caused by ingested SAPBs.
