The total number of patients included with FBI was 137 with median age of 36 months ranging from 4 months to 16 years old with the majority falling in the “ > 3 years” category (61.3%). Similar findings were found in a study by Isa and his colleagues, where the most common age group was 2–3 years old, accounting for 43.5% of cases [6]. Additionally, Abudungor et al. found that there is a correlation between FBI and age, with 47% of cases involving children aged 1–3 years [7].

In the present study, the analysis of clinical symptoms based on the ingested FB's location reveals significant variations, with gastric FB being largely asymptomatic (62.1%), esophageal FB presenting predominantly with dysphagia (89.3%) and vomiting (92.9%), and intestinal FB showing a notable incidence of abdominal pain (66.7%). This came in accordance with Isa et al. who reported that most patients with gastric and intestinal FBI were asymptomatic, whereas most patients with esophageal FBs were symptomatic [6]. Within the same line, Gatto et al. have reported that symptoms occurred in 50% of esophageal FBs, in 7% of the gastric FBs and in 17% of intestinal FBs [4].

In previous studies, drooling of saliva and dysphagia were found to be the main symptoms in patients with esophageal FBs [8], while abdominal pain and vomiting were found to be the main symptoms in patients with gastric FBs. The type of the FB, the time elapsed between the ingestion event and presentation, and the patient’s age were used to explain the significant difference in presenting symptoms across several studies [9].

Our results showed that blunt objects were the most frequently ingested FBs (56.2%), of which coins represent 50.3% of the total FBs. Sharp objects represented 24.1% and batteries represented 7.3% of cases. This was in line with Abudungor et al., who found that coin ingestion accounted for 46.7% of FBI cases, and battery ingestion accounted for 17.2% of cases [7]. However, in a recent study by Isa et al., battery ingestion was the most frequent FB type because, in their center, most patients who ingested coins were seen at the emergency department, so they were not included in their study [6].

In our study, out of the 137 patients, 51 (37.2%) had ingested high-risk FBs (sharp objects, batteries, magnets), indicating a significant concern due to potential complications. These findings emphasize the importance of preventive measures and prompt intervention in cases involving high-risk foreign bodies. Healthcare providers should be vigilant in assessing and managing patients with foreign body ingestions, especially those involving sharp objects and button batteries, to prevent serious complications.

In the present study, endoscopy was performed for all the cases, and FB was successfully removed in 89.7% of cases. Moreover, a small percentage of cases (4.4%) passed without the need for additional intervention. This was in line with a Makkah study that found that 95.4% of FBI patients needed urgent removal of FB by endoscopy [10]. Additionally, 65% of patients in a Kurdistan study needed endoscopic intervention [11]. According to these reports, endoscopic procedures are crucial for avoiding serious FBI-related problems [12]. On the other hand, the rates of spontaneous passages recorded by Chan et al. and Khorana et al. were 92% and 60.31%, respectively [13, 14].