ReviewJournal of paediatrics and child health2025
Water beads: Expanding toy and 'new' problem for paediatric surgeons and community.
Review in Journal of paediatrics and child health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pediatric Water Bead Ingestion: Experience from a Quaternary Care Children's Hospital and a Proposed Management Algorithm.Journal of pediatrics. Clinical practice · 2026Article
- Foreign Body Ingestion in Children: A Narrative Review of Time-Critical Risk Stratification and Contemporary Management.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Acute Small Bowel Obstruction Secondary to Hygroscopic Water Beads Ingestion: A Report of Two Pediatric Cases.Cureus · 2026Article
- When toys become dangerous: small bowel obstruction from water-absorbing bead ingestion in children-a case series.Journal of surgical case reports · 2026Article
- Superabsorbent polymer beads ingestion by children: a single-center retrospective study of 11 cases.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND STUDY
aimsWater beads made from superabsorbent polymers can lead to bowel obstruction, which can sometimes be fatal. This article aims to highlight the dangers of such toys and to propose an innovative, safe and effective approach to diagnostic and therapeutic management. PATIENTS AND
methodsWe report two cases of children with intestinal obstruction following the ingestion of products based on superabsorbent polymers. They were diagnosed and treated in two different centres using varying techniques.
resultsWe compare our experiences with the few cases reported in the literature. Since water beads are radiolucent, ultrasound or CT scans are crucial for diagnosis. As in one of our cases, radiography of the upper gastrointestinal tract with contrast can be very helpful. Laparotomy with enterotomy is the main surgical approach reported in literature to extract the water spheres. We report two cases managed using a minimally invasive approach, and one of them is the second one described in the literature, treated endoscopically.
conclusionsWater beads pose a potential danger to children, making it necessary to limit the sale of this type of toy. We offer a management flowchart based on our experience and evidence from the literature.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.