[Foreign body ingestion: a common problem in paediatric age]. / L'ingestione di corpi estranei in età pediatrica: una costante realtà.

Foreign body (F.B.) ingestion occurs very frequently in paediatric age. The kind of ingested foreign bodies depends on the patient's age. Children between 1 and 3 years of age mostly swallow coins, toy parts, stones and small batteries; instead, older children typically ingest boluses of meat. The aim of this study is to review our case histories according to the latest literature, focusing on some events that needed a therapeutic emergency treatment.