Patient's Intentional Ingestion of Knives, Pens, Batteries: Tough Act to Swallow

Nov. 4, 2010— -- Knives and razor blades aren't things that most people would dream of swallowing -- but some doctors see patients who do just that.

A new study out of Rhode Island Hospital looked at 33 adult patients who together were responsible for 305 instances of medical intervention because of intentionally consuming foreign objects -- most commonly pens, batteries, knives and razor blades.

The bizarre cases were as expensive as they were shocking; treating patients for the swallowed objects cost the hospital more than $2 million, for which most of the payment came from Medicare and Medicaid.

The results were published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

"After some suspicion, we were able to document these incidences, and we've learned how to deal with this with a minimum amount of disruption," said Dr. Steven Moss, a gastroenterologist at Rhode Island Hospital and lead author of the study. Moss is also a professor of Medicine at Brown University.

For the average person, it is very difficult to understand why someone would want to ingest such risky materials.

Dr. Donald Malone, director of the Center for Behavioral Health at Cleveland Clinic, said the reasons are complicated. Sometimes, it can be blamed upon developmental delays, mental retardation or autistic spectrum disorders. Sometimes, the reason might be impulsive behaviors without the rational thought process that prevents most people from doing the same thing.

For others, the reason might be is self-injury. With that self-harm comes attention, and some people want that attention whether it is in a positive or negative form.