# Profiling cases of button battery ingestion using Canadian and British Columbia poison centre data

## TL;DR

This study analyzes button battery ingestion cases in Canada and British Columbia to highlight the risks and recommend safety measures.

## Contribution

The paper provides new insights into the frequency and severity of button battery ingestions in children.

## Key findings

- Over 1000 button battery ingestion cases were reported in Canada from 2020 to 2023.
- Most British Columbia cases required hospitalization and X-ray imaging.
- Seven patients needed surgical battery removal from the esophagus.

## Abstract

Ingestion of button batteries poses an acute life-threatening injury risk, particularly for small children. The Canadian Surveillance System for Poison Information reported 1021 single-substance button-battery ingestion cases from 2020 to 2023, and the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre (DPIC) managed 548 unintentional ingestion cases from 2013 to 2023. Nearly all the DPIC cases required hospital admission for X-ray imaging, and seven patients required surgical removal of the battery from the esophagus. Our findings support developing product warning labels and enforcing child-resistant battery packaging and compartments on consumer products.