Pediatric Water Bead-Related Emergency Visits Increasing in U.S.
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 14, 2024 -- Pediatric water bead-related emergency department visits are increasing, and they most often involve children younger than 5 years of age, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Holden J. Joynes, from The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and colleagues used data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System during Jan. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2022, to examine the characteristics and trends of emergency department visits associated with water beads by individuals aged younger than 20 years.
The researchers identified an estimated 8,159 water bead-related visits to U.S. emergency departments based on 307 reported cases; 55.0 percent of the 307 cases involved children younger than 5 years. Overall, 92.2 percent of the cases were treated and released; this finding was consistent across age groups. The highest proportion of cases admitted was among children younger than 5 years of age (10.1 percent); this age group accounted for 89.5 percent of the 19 admissions in the study. All admissions among children younger than 5 years involved ingestion. The most common mechanism of injury was ingestion (45.9 percent), followed by ear canal insertion, nasal insertion, and eye injury (32.6, 11.7, and 8.8 percent, respectively). Ingestions occurred most often in children aged 1 and 2 years (28.4 and 23.4 percent, respectively), while one-fifth of ingestions occurred in those aged 3 and 4 years. From 2021 to 2022, there was a rapid increase in the number of emergency department cases, from 55 to 127.
"Children <5 years old are the most commonly involved age group, usually via water bead ingestion," the authors write. "They represented more than half of emergency department cases and approximately 90 percent of inpatient admissions."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2024
Read this next
Advanced Biological Age Linked to Increased Risk for Incident Dementia
FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 -- Advanced biological age (BA) may be a risk factor for incident dementia, according to a study published online April 30 in Neurology. Yacong Bo, Ph.D...
Exposure to Smoke Pollution Ups Risk for Hospitalization for Respiratory Disease
FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 -- For older adults in the Western United States, exposure to high levels of smoke pollution is associated with an increase in hospitalizations for respiratory...
Exercise Helps Reduce Side Effects From Cancer Treatment
THURSDAY, May 1, 2025 -- Exercise mitigates adverse outcomes associated with cancer and its treatments, according to a review published online April 29 in the British Journal...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.