Managing magnets: An audit of introduction of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Best Practice Guideline.

Aim: To evaluate management of children and young people presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with magnet ingestion before and after new guidance.

Methods: In May 2021, a National Patient Safety Agency and Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) Best Practice Guideline about management of ingested magnets was published. This was implemented in our department. Children and young people presenting after magnet ingestion were identified from SNOMED (coded routinely collected data) and X-ray requests between January 2016 and March 2022. Management was compared to national guidance.

Results: There were 138 patient episodes of magnet ingestion, with a rising incidence over the 5-year period. Following introduction of the guideline, there was a higher incidence of admission (36% vs. 20%) and operative intervention (15.7% vs. 8%). Use of follow-up X-ray increased from 56% to 90%. There was substantial variation in the management prior to guidance which reduced after introduction of the RCEM guidance.

Conclusion: Management of magnet ingestion has become more standardised since introduction of the National RCEM Best Practice Guideline, but there is still room for improvement.