A case of child death caused by intestinal volvulus following magnetic toy ingestion

• A sudden death of an 8-year old boy with a history of bloody vomits and stomach ache occurred in the ER of one of Warsaw’s hospitals.
• Forensic autopsy revealed presence of two magnetic spheres in the lumen of the intestines.
• The cause of death was intestinal volvulus caused by foreign objects (two magnetic spheres) ingestion.
• Most likely the magnetic objects were part of a popular toy.

An 8-year boy was admitted to the ER of one of Warsaw’s pediatric hospitals with a history of having bloody vomiting the day before. During admission the boy collapsed and lost consciousness. CPR was unsuccessful. On medico-legal autopsy, two foreign objects (small magnetic spheres – 0.5 cm in diameter) were found in two different places in the small and large intestines and were notably attracted magnetically one to another. A loop of approximately 1-m length with features of small intestinal hemorrhagic necrosis and small intestinal mechanical obstruction was found. The cause of death was intestinal volvulus and small intestinal mechanical obstruction caused by ingestion of foreign objects (two neodymium magnets). Most likely these small magnetic spheres were part of a popular toy, the safety of which, lately has been widely discussed.