Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine

Case Presentation: We present the case of a six-year-old child with autism who presented with persistent vomiting in the setting of a closed head injury (CHI). Computed tomography of the head was normal, but due to persistent vomiting a radiograph of the abdomen was done, which showed multiple, rare-earth magnets in the abdomen. There was no history of witnessed ingestion. These magnets had caused enteroenteric fistula formation leading to persistent vomiting.

Discussion: In the setting of CHI, vomiting can be a sign of concussion or intracranial hemorrhage. In cases of CHI where intracranial pathology is ruled out and vomiting still persists, it is important to explore intra-abdominal causes of vomiting, especially in developmentally challenged children as they have higher incidence of unwitnessed foreign body ingestions.