Gastric Foreign Bodies in Prison Inmates

Objective Gastric foreign bodies are a common problem brought to an endoscopist. Prisoners are more prone to ingesting unusual foreign bodies for a secondary gain. The objective of this study was to study the profile of foreign body ingestion among the prisoners brought to a tertiary care center. Methods This is a retrospective case series. All the prisoners brought for endoscopic removal of foreign bodies between January 2018 to December 2019 were included in the analysis. Patients’ baseline characteristics, type of foreign body, management, and outcome were noted Results A total of eight inmates presented with ingestion of foreign body to our department. Most common foreign bodies ingested were drug packets and mobile phones. All ingestions were for secondary gain. Endoscopic removal was successful in all cases. Conclusion Endoscopic removal can be tried with all necessary precautions by an expert endoscopist.

Understanding the “Conflict of Interest

According to Wikipedia, ‘Çonflict of interest’ is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest' [1]. It may be broadly described as conditions which may influence one’s judgement in a situation (primary interest) for some other gain (secondary interest), this may be financial or non-financial . It is of importance to understand that having a secondary gain is not wrong but these gains should not be illegal. This pertains to delivery of patient care, teaching and research in the medical profession.

SÍNDROME DE MUNCHAUSEN RELACIONADA À CALCULOSE URINÁRIA NÃO METABÓLICA: UM RELATO DE CASO

The term Munchausen Syndrome (MS) was first described in 1951 by Asher to characterize individuals who intentionally produce signs and symptoms of a disease. People with this syndrome pretend to be sick and tend to look for treatment, without secondary gain, in different health services. A report of an 18-year-old woman in renal lithiasis research is reported and, at the end of the investigation, it was concluded that the "stones" were not of renal origin. The MS is rare and promotes massive health care spending, with unnecessary and costly examinations, exposing patients to iatrogenics. An underdiagnosed disease with little knowledge of health professionals. Key-words: Munchausen Syndrome; Urinary calculosis; Iatrogeny.