Responses of the murine esophageal microcirculation to acute exposure to alkali, acid, or hypochlorite.

Background/purpose: Although ingestion of alkali-based and/or hypochlorite-based household cleaners as well as strong acids remains a major cause of esophageal wall injury, little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the injury response to these toxic agents. This study examined the roles of vascular dysfunction and inflammation to the esophageal injury response to different caustic substances in mice.

Methods: The esophageal responses to sodium hydroxide (10%, 5%, and 2.