Caustic ingestions in children
- 1 October 2009
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Current Opinion in Pediatrics
- Vol. 21 (5), 651-654
- https://doi.org/10.1097/mop.0b013e32832e2764
Abstract
The purpose of this review is to outline the current epidemiology, mechanism of injury, clinical manifestations, management and long-term complications of caustic ingestions in pediatric patients.Recent data suggest that more than 200 000 exposures to household or industrial cleaning products occur annually in the United States. It is difficult to determine what fraction of these exposures represents caustic ingestions. Caustic ingestions occur most commonly in children less than age 6 years. Because of the accidental nature of the ingestions, the case fatality rate for pediatric patients is significantly less than that of adolescents and adults. Despite laws to limit the concentration of household cleaning products, farm and industrial products and products stored in nonoriginal containers represent a significant source of caustic agents. Endoscopy remains the preferred method of staging injury. In children the absence of symptoms does not predict lack of relevant injury. However, the presence of three or more symptoms is associated with a high likelihood of significant injury. Long-term complications in pediatric patients may be severe and include esophageal cancer.Caustic ingestions remain a significant cause of pediatric morbidity in the United States and abroad. Endoscopy is the primary method of staging injury following a caustic ingestion. Extent of injury at initial evaluation remains the best predictor of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients following an accidental caustic ingestion.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Pediatric caustic ingestion: 50 consecutive cases and a review of the literatureDiseases of the Esophagus, 2009
- Caustic ingestion in children: is endoscopy always indicated? The results of an Italian multicenter observational studyGastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2008
- Initial Signs and Symptoms as Prognostic Indicators of Severe Gastrointestinal Tract Injury Due to Corrosive IngestionThe Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2007
- Frostbite of the EsophagusJournal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 2007
- Updates on the Evaluation and Management of Caustic ExposuresEmergency Medicine Clinics of North America, 2007
- Early and Late Term Management in Caustic Ingestion in Children: A 16-year ExperienceActa Chirurgica Belgica, 2007
- Caustic Gastroesophageal Lesions in Childhood: An Analysis of 473 CasesClinical Pediatrics, 2006
- 2005 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poisoning and Exposure DatabaseClinical Toxicology, 2006
- 2004 Annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance SystemThe American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2005
- Do Corticosteroids Prevent Oesophageal Stricture After Corrosive Ingestion?Toxicological Reviews, 2005