A new study published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine reveals that nearly 4,000 people are hospitalized annually in the U.S. due to foreign objects lodged in their rectum.
The research, conducted by the University of Rochester, highlights that many of these cases involve sexual objects. The study, which is the first to provide “nationally representative data” on rectal foreign bodies in the U.S., analyzed emergency reports from 2012 to 2021, identifying 38,948 emergency department visits related to 885 cases involving individuals over the age of 15.
Researchers examined records from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which tracks injuries related to consumer products, focusing on injuries to the “pubic region” or “lower trunk” with diagnoses of foreign bodies, punctures, or lacerations.
The average age of patients was 43, with nearly 78% being male. Approximately 40% of these patients required hospitalization. Over half of the foreign objects involved were sexual items such as vibrators and anal beads.
In contrast, objects like balls, marbles, and drugs were associated with a lower hospitalization rate. The study also observed an increase in hospital visits for rectal foreign bodies, rising from 1.2 per 100,000 people in 2012 to 1.9 in 2021.
“These data quantify a frequently encountered clinical presentation that has received little research focus,” the study’s authors wrote. “These data suggest that there are distinct sex and age-specific differences in outcomes that may have an anatomic or behavioural basis.”
The authors noted that the data reveal distinct age and sex-specific differences in outcomes, potentially related to anatomical or behavioral factors.
In related reports, the Visual Journal of Emergency Surgery recently documented a case where a man required emergency surgery after a can of deodorant was found lodged in his rectum.
Additionally, a French senior citizen made headlines last year when he arrived at the hospital with a World War I artillery shell stuck in his rectum, leading to a partial evacuation due to bomb scare concerns.
