Minimally invasive, image-guided treatment is a safe and precise method for removal of self-inflicted foreign objects from the body, according to the first report on "self-embedding disorder," or self-injury and self-inflicted foreign body insertion in adolescents.
The findings will be presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
"Radiologists are in a unique position to be the first to detect self-embedding disorder, make the appropriate diagnosis and mobilize the healthcare system for early and effective intervention and treatment," said the study's principal investigator, William E. Shiels II, D.O., chief of the Department of Radiology at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Self-injury, or self-harm, refers to a variety of behaviors in which a person intentionally inflicts harm to his or her body without suicidal intent. It is a disturbing trend among U.S. adolescents, particularly girls. Prevalence is unknown because many cases go unreported, but recent studies have reported that 13 to 24 percent of high school students in the U.S. and Canada have practiced deliberate self-injury at least once. More common forms of self-injury include cutting of the skin, burning, bruising, hair pulling, breaking bones or swallowing toxic substances. In cases of self-embedding disorder, objects are used to puncture the skin or are embedded into the wound after cutting.