ACUTE POISONINGS WITH CORROSIVE SUBSTANCES – NEW FINDINGS AND REVIEW OF OUR FIVE-YEAR MATERIAL

Abstract

Ingestion of corrosive chemical substances remains a serious problem in modern clinical toxicology due to its high mortality rate in the acute phase and the risk of serious, long-term complications during the chronic phase. Findings in this study are based on a five-year material (2017-2021), retrospectively collected from patients’ records at the University Clinic for Toxicology and Urgent Internal Medicine in Skopje, Macedonia. It is a review of our clinical experience, discussion on the results of articles found in the Pub Med database and data citied in various articles related to management of acute corrosive poisonings. This type of poisonings happens after an accidental or aware contact with corrosive substances, usually in suicide attempts. Mainly they happen after ingestion of corrosive chemicals, but often we witness injuries of respiratory organs as a result of inhalation of corrosive fumes, or dermal burns, after direct contact with the skin. There are various types of corrosive chemicals, but the majority of cases report contact with acids. In the diagnosis of this type of intoxications, we use upper endoscopy as a gold standard for quick and proper diagnosis. Nowadays, early computerized tomography is also a recommended procedure for an early evaluation and intervention. Treatment is based on the clinical condition of patients and it mainly consists of intravenous fluids, antacids, antibiotics, sedatives and protocols for artificial nutrition