In response to the letter to the editor related to our article on the ingestion of magnets in Latin American children, we wish to make the following points. Llanco-Albornoz et al. describe elements that can be interesting to study, but that in no way, were objectives of our study. Our aim was to call attention to a problem that had little or no presence in the medical literature of the region, whereas it was an eminently discussed topic by the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (whose member countries are the United States, Mexico, and Canada), even reaching the highest political spheres of the United States. Given that dichotomy, we wanted to find out if the problem existed in Latin America or if it simply was not seen. Our study confirmed the suspicion that magnet ingestion also occurred in Latin America and we wanted to bring attention to that fact. As is the case with many entities described in the medical literature, a problem must first be identified, to then be advanced and examined in detail. The authors of the letter make some valid points to be addressed in future studies. If our article has led to an increased interest in the topic and motivates other groups to conduct more studies on it, as I assume could be the intention of Llanco-Albornoz et al., we are pleased and satisfied at having achieved our goal. Magnet ingestion is a serious problem that should continue to be investigated, and education about it should be widespread.1,2 I invite the authors of this letter and other researchers to carry out studies on the theme and to persevere in the search for a solution to the problem. The children in our care deserve that.
Financial disclosureNo financial support was received in relation to this letter.
Conflict of interestThe author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
Please cite this article as: Saps M. Respuesta a L.A. Llanco-Albornoz et al. sobre «La ingestión de imanes no conoce fronteras: una amenaza para los niños latinoamericanos, aspectos no considerados en el estudio». Rev Gastroenterol Méx. 2023;88:194–195.