Abstract
This study aims to provide basic data on the types and frequency of chemical ingestions and the clinical outcomes of chemical ingestion injury. This study retrospectively analyzed the data obtained from the Emergency Department-Based Injury In-depth Surveillance of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (South Korea) from 2011 to 2016. Patients ingesting chemicals aged ≥ 18 years were included, but those ingesting unknown chemical substances or with unknown clinical outcomes were excluded. This study included 2,712 (47.2% were men and 52.8% were women, mean age, 47.05 years) patients ingesting chemicals. Unintentional and intentional ingestions were reported in 1,673 (61.7%) and 1,039 (38.3%), respectively. The most commonly ingested chemical substances were hypochlorites, detergents, ethanol, and acetic acid. In the unintentional ingestion group, the most common chemicals upon admission were hypochlorites (74), glacial acetic acid (60), and detergent (33). The admission rates were 60% for glacial acetic acid, 58.3% ethylene glycol, and 30.4% other alkali agents. In the intentional ingestion group, the most common chemicals upon admission were hypochlorites (242), glacial acetic acid (79), ethylene glycol (42), and detergent (41). The admission rates were 91.9% for glacial acetic acid, 87.5% ethylene glycol, 85.7% potassium cyanide, and 81.4% hydrochloric acid. In total, 79 deaths (10 unintentional ingestions, 69 intentional ingestion) were reported, and glacial acetic acid had an odds ratio of 9.299 for mortality. We compared the intentional and unintentional ingestion groups, and analyzed the factors affecting hospital admission and mortality in each group. The types and clinical outcomes of chemical ingestion varied depending on the purpose of chemical ingestion. The findings are considered beneficial in establishing treatment policies for patients ingesting chemicals.
Highlights
With the advancement of manufacturing and industry, approximately 120,000 chemicals are being distributed worldwide, with approximately 40,000 of them being distributed in South Korea [1]]
This study retrospectively analyzed the data obtained from the Emergency DepartmentBased Injury In-depth Surveillance of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (South Korea) from 2011 to 2016
Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the benefits of transparency in the peer review process; we enable the publication of all of the content of peer review and author responses alongside final, published articles
Summary
With the advancement of manufacturing and industry, approximately 120,000 chemicals are being distributed worldwide, with approximately 40,000 of them being distributed in South Korea [1]]. In the United States, an estimated 10,000 chemical exposures are reported annually. Occur each year [[2,3] During chemical exposure, both the exposure and the victims should be properly monitored. Exposure events are primarily monitored by the departments responsible for managing chemicals, and data collection from the victims is hospital- or poison center-based [4,5,6,7]]. We compared the characteristics of chemical ingestion according to their intentionality and analyzed the factors that affect the poor prognosis in each group
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