Chronic foreign body ingestion in two adults with psychiatric disorder: Is it possible to wait and see?

Abstract

Foreign body ingestion in adults is a rare occurrence; however, intentional ingestion cases are reported among prisoners and individuals with psychiatric disorders. Here, we reported two unusual cases of foreign body ingestion in two adults with psychiatric disorders. A 32-year-old female presented to the emergency department with self-harm to the abdomen to extract a needle under her skin. Radiologic images showed multiple sewing needles in the gastrointestinal tract and adjacent structures. In the other case, a 23-year-old male presented with rectal bleeding after ingesting metallic screws. His previous and new scans revealed multiple metallic screws and safety pins throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Both patients had a history of chronic foreign body ingestion and had never been operated. The aim of this report is to raise a question whether non-operative follow-up could be a treatment of choice after the ingestion of sharp objects such as sewing needles and metallic screws.