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Foreign Body Ingestion is a common clinical scenario, especially in pediatric patients, individuals with psychiatric disorders, prisoners, and elderly with cognitive decline. Imaging plays a crucial role in diagnosis, localization, and guiding management.

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ETIOLOGY

Clinical context:

Group	Commonly Ingested Objects
Children	Coins, toys, batteries, magnets
Adults (psychiatric)	Razor blades, pens, utensils
Elderly	Dentures, bones (fish/chicken)
Prisoners/Drug mules	Packets of drugs, sharp items

RADIOLOGY

1. Plain Radiographs (X-rays)

First-line imaging for most suspected cases.
Views: Neck (soft tissue lateral), chest, and abdomen (AP/lateral).
Look for: Radio-opacity, location, number, and signs of perforation.

Key findings:

Note: If X-ray is negative and suspicion is high (radiolucent object), proceed with CT or endoscopy.

Object	Appearance on X-ray
Coins	Round, uniform opacity; en face in esophagus
Button battery	Double rim / halo sign
Magnets	Clustered opacities; high-risk if multiple
Dentures	Often radiolucent — missed on X-ray
Drug packets	“Double condom” sign, multiple uniform densities

Case report:

![A case of foreign body aspiration in a 2 year old male child that was closely followed up over the course of three days. a-d: A radioopaque round foreign body consistent with a battery was noted as follows a. Day 1: Gastric fundus b. Day 2: Jejunum
c. Day 2: Ileum d. Day 3: Terminal ileum e, f: Day 3: The battery was finally passed without complications later at night on day 3, 8 hours after the last XR evaluation

Case courtesy Dr Dibya Jyoti Sharma // #SMCHCase](attachment:693e08d0-db49-40b2-bcbc-ad0201254443:FBI.jpg)

A case of foreign body aspiration in a 2 year old male child that was closely followed up over the course of three days. a-d: A radioopaque round foreign body consistent with a battery was noted as follows a. Day 1: Gastric fundus b. Day 2: Jejunum
c. Day 2: Ileum d. Day 3: Terminal ileum e, f: Day 3: The battery was finally passed without complications later at night on day 3, 8 hours after the last XR evaluation

Case courtesy Dr Dibya Jyoti Sharma // #SMCHCase

2. CT Scan (Non-contrast)

High sensitivity for radiolucent objects (e.g. fish bones, wood, plastic).