This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dyleski, R. A.
Right arrow Articles by Mair, E. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dyleski, R. A.
Right arrow Articles by Mair, E. A.
PEDIATRICS Vol. 113 No. 1 January 2004, pp. 176-177

Zinc Pennies in the Esophagus

Robin A. Dyleski, MD, FASC
M. Saif Siddiqui, MD
James F. Mayhew, MD, FAAP
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Little Rock, AR 72202-3591, USA

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

To the Editor.—

We read with interest the case report of a child with a penny lodged in the esophagus by Bothwell et al.1 In our pediatric otolaryngology and anesthesia practice, we see a number of such patients annually. Before diagnosis of chronic esophageal foreign bodies, it is not unusual for some of these children to have been treated for new-onset asthma for several weeks to months. Most often, the "asthma" resolves following removal of the foreign body. Although reactions as severe as that described by the authors in their case report have not been seen, almost all have some esophageal mucosal and/or muscular reaction to the presence of the penny, especially if it has been present for more than a few days.

Our concern with this report and discussion is the emphasis on zinc toxicity in this patient despite neither a documented zinc . . . [Full Text of this Article]