A pediatric emergency medicine physician’s TikTok video has garnered more than 35 million views in 72 hours after she shared one of “the most interesting cases” she’s seen in her career — while warning people about one way a simple backyard barbecue could become life-threatening.
“The ER is always unpredictable,” Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, told Fox News Digital.
“We see a lot of unusual things, but this is one of the more unique cases I’ve treated, though not the only one,” she said.
In her recent TikTok video, Martin explained that last month, a four-year-old boy who had been eating food at a barbecue was brought to the emergency room because he was “complaining of ear pain.”
He had a “totally normal ear exam,” Martin said in the video.
The child, according to Martin, was sent home. His parents were advised to give him Ibuprofen and to bring the child to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist.
Doctors also performed a full exam — and still there was nothing.
“Two days later, he came back to the emergency department and they did a CAT scan,” Martin continued in the video.
“Didn’t see anything … looks totally normal … told him to follow up with the pediatrician and ENT again in a couple of days.”
But several days later, the boy came back to the ER at 4:30 a.m. when Martin was on call.
“Now he’s having some fevers, and he’s not wanting to eat and drink, and we have no idea what’s going on with him,” Martin described in the video.
“His ear exam was totally normal, and he was still complaining of ear pain,” she added.
On the throat exam, Martin explained, the child had some swelling of the tonsil area on the right and tenderness in the neck on the right side.
“So we went all out,” Martin said. “We did a CAT scan of the neck, which included the ears with contrast. We did a ton of labs, gave him fluids, just did every test we could think of doing. Then we got our answer with the CAT scan.”
The boy ended up having a two-centimeter metal wire lodged in his throat’s peritonsillar tissues.
He had also begun to develop an abscess around it.
“He had been eating a hamburger when this happened,” Martin shared in her video.
“So, the grill brush — the metal wires on the grill brush — had become lodged in the hamburger and when he ate the hamburger, it got lodged in the soft tissues.”
The ear pain, Martin explained, was likely because the eustachian tube is in that area — and he was feeling pressure and irritation from that.
Martin said her young patient ended up going to the operating room with the ear, nose and throat surgeons, who were able to remove the foreign body and drain the abscess.
The boy was started on some antibiotics and his pain was completely resolved.
“We never want a kiddo to be sick, but finding an answer for the family felt good, especially something that we could fix,” Martin told Fox New Digital.
“We were able to validate the pain the child was in and to give an answer to the family, and they were grateful,” she added.
“It was a good day in the ER, and I can’t say that every day,” she also said.
Martin said if the foreign body had remained inside the boy’s body, there would have been an enlarging abscess or pocket of infection that would have spread and caused other problems.
“Potentially worsening problems eating, maybe breathing and possible sepsis,” Martin said about what could have happened.
“If it had been in another location like the abdomen, it can also cause problems in the bowels like blockages and perforations, which can also be dangerous,” she noted in the TikTok video.
Martin said if someone swallows a foreign object, it is important to watch for changes in breathing, changes in level of alertness or persistent vomiting — and to call 911 or go to the ER.
“Do not use grill brushes with metal wires,” Martin also told her followers.
“There’s not only the risk that it can get lodged in the soft tissues in your throat, but they can also cause bowel obstructions and perforations in the abdomen if accidentally swallowed,” she explained.
Martin said she created the video to raise awareness about grill brushes that have metal wires because it is a small change in people’s lives that can remove that risk.
“People love a good medical mystery,” Martin told Fox News Digital. “Especially one that has a happy ending, where we find the cause and can intervene to fix it. There are many other options on the market that are a very reasonable price that don’t carry the same danger.”
As spring arrives, Martin warned people about a few other hazards to consider.
“With spring and summer comes pools and the beach,” Martin said. “Especially here in Florida, water safety is of utmost importance. In just moments, kids can slip away and fall into the water. It’s important to always be vigilant.”
Accidents related to water beads — small polymers that can be used for plants and also for sensory toys — are what Martin said she sees more of inside the emergency room once the weather gets nicer.
Button batteries — small batteries found in hearing aids, key fobs, small toys, remote controls and more — present a year-round hazard.
“They can cause some significant injuries” if kids or pets ingest them, Martin said.
After the response to her video and all the new followers, Martin posted a “reintroduction” video, explaining that her mission is focused on “creating a bridge” between the medical community and the patients that doctors serve.
“I spent a lot of years in training and learned how to speak with other people in the medical field, and we use this language on a regular basis, and sometimes we forget that others may not completely understand us,” Martin said.
“I feel like I’m able to speak in a way that is understandable for people who may not know the ‘medical lingo.’ Educating people creates patients who can advocate for themselves and their families,” she said.
“I feel like by educating, I’m also empowering,” she added.