A foreign body identified in the X-ray

A 3-year-old girl presented to our emergency room after swallowing an unknown object, probably metallic, according to her parents. Physical exam reveals hypersialorrhea. A chest X-ray was requested showing a round, opaque object at the C6 level with a double-ring sign (Fig. 1A). A button battery ingestion was suspected. An emergency esophagoscopy under general anesthesia was performed, and a button battery was extracted (Fig. 1B).

Figure 1A.

Chest X-ray showing a radiopaque foreign body with a double-ring sign.

Figure 1B.

Button battery extracted.

Ingestion of foreign bodies is more common among children, particularly those under the age of 5. The most common are coins and the most dangerous batteries. ‘Double-ring’ or ‘halo’ sign is a pathognomonic sign.

Funding

None.

Ethical approval

Case reports are exempt from ethical approval at our institution.

Consent

Written informed consent for publication of clinical details and images was obtained from the patient's parents.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Ines Riahi: Writing – original draft. Chaima Ben Ammar: Writing – review & editing. Mamia Ben Salah: Supervision.