Current practices in the management of corrosive ingestion in children: A questionnaire-based survey and recommendations.

Background And Aim: Corrosive ingestion causes significant morbidity in children with no standard guidelines regarding management. This survey aimed to understand practices adopted by gastroenterologists, identify lacunae in evaluation and management and suggest a practical algorithm.

Methods: Indian gastroenterologists participated in an online survey (65 questions) on managing corrosive ingestion. When ≥ 50% of respondents agreed on a management option, it was considered as 'agreement'.

Results: Ninety-eight gastroenterologists (72 pediatric) who had managed a total of ~ 2600 corrosive ingestions in the last 5 years responded. The commonest age group affected was 2-5 years (61%). Majority of ingestion was accidental (89%) with 80% due to improper corrosive storage. Ingestion of alkali and acid was equally common (alkali 41%, acid 39%, unknown 20%). History of inducing-vomiting after ingestion by community physicians was present in 57%. There was an agreement on 77% of questions. The respondents agreed on endoscopy (70%) and chest X-ray (67%) in all, irrespective of symptoms. Endoscopy was considered safe on days 1-5 after ingestion (91%) and relatively contraindicated thereafter. The consensus was to use acid suppression, always (59%); steroids, never (68%) and antibiotics, if indicated (59%). Feeding was based on endoscopic findings: oral in mild injuries and nasogastric (NG) in others. Eighty percent placed a NG tube under endoscopic guidance. Stricture dilatation was considered safe after 4 weeks of ingestion. Agreement on duration of acid suppression and stricture management (dilatation protocol and refractory strictures) was lacking.

Conclusion: Corrosive ingestion mostly affects 2-5-year olds and is accidental in majority. It can be potentially prevented by proper storage and labelling of corrosives. An algorithm for management is proposed.