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Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain 2005 5(1):5-8; doi:10.1093/bjaceaccp/mki007
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Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain | Volume 5 Number 1 2005 © The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2005

Caustic ingestion in children

Andrea Weigert, FRCA, Specialist Registrar in Anaesthesia
Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London, WC1N 3JH

Ann Black, FRCA, Consultant Anaesthetist
Department of Anaesthesia, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London, WC1N 3JH
Tel: 020 7829 8865, Fax: 020 7829 8866, E-mail: blacka{at}gosh.nhs.uk (for correspondence)

Accidental ingestion of caustic agents may cause devastating injury in children. Strong alkalis are present in a wide range of household and industrial cleaners and beauty products, often attractively packaged and easily accessible to children, both at home and on low shelves in shops. Even in small quantities, ingestion of such substances can result in profoundly disabling morbidity and even mortality. Rapid, comprehensive management of the acute injury is required to minimize these complications. Anaesthetists may encounter such patients both at first presentation and subsequently for management of sequelae. Alkali ingestion is increasingly rare in the UK and is usually accidental in children. In teenagers and adults, alkali poisoning is more likely to occur as a form of deliberate self-harm and is associated with a higher mortality. In developing countries, cheap and widely available corrosive substances are frequently used for suicidal purposes.


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