Case report

Allergic enterocolitis and protein-losing enteropathy as the presentations of manganese leak from an ingested disk battery: A case report

Muhammad A Altaf , Praveen S Goday and Grzegorz Telega

Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, The Medical College of Wisconsin, Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53221, USA

author email corresponding author email

Journal of Medical Case Reports 2008, 2:286doi:10.1186/1752-1947-2-286

Published:	27 August 2008

Abstract

Introduction

Disk battery ingestions can lead to serious complications including airway or digestive tract perforation, blood vessel erosions, mediastinitis, and stricture formation.

Case presentation

We report a 20-month-old Caucasian child who developed eosinophilic enterocolitis and subsequent protein-losing enteropathy from manganese that leaked from a lithium disk battery. The disk battery was impacted in her esophagus for 10 days resulting in battery corrosion. We postulate that this patient's symptoms were due to a manganese leak from the 'retained' disk battery; this resulted in an allergic response in her gut and protein-losing enteropathy. Her symptoms improved gradually over the next 2 weeks with conservative management.

Conclusion

This is the first case report to highlight the potential complication of allergic enterocolitis and protein-losing enteropathy secondary to ingested manganese. Clinicians should be vigilant about this rare complication in managing patients with disk battery ingestions.