Role of early endoscopic evaluation in decreasing morbidity, mortality, and cost after caustic ingestion: a retrospective nationwide database analysis

Caustic substance ingestion (CSI) is a serious medical problem with potentially devastating short- and long-term consequences. Early upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (EaEn) is recommended to evaluate the extent of injury and guide management but there has been controversy about the timing. There is no nationwide study evaluating adherence to EaEn and outcomes following CSI.Nationwide Inpatient Sample database 2003-2011 was used to identify all-age, nonreferral, urgent/emergent admissions with E-International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision codes for CSI. We evaluated the association of undergoing late endoscopy (LaEn, >48 hours since admission) with poor clinical (death or systemic complications) and economic (cost for admission and length of stay above the 75th percentile) outcomes after controlling for other demographic and clinical factors using a multivariate analysis.We identified 21,682 patients with a median age of 37 years, 51% males, 43% Caucasians, with suicidal ingestion reported in 40%. Endoscopy was performed in 6011 patients (37%). The majority had EaEn (43% within 24, and 40% within 24-48 hours), whereas 17% had LaEn.Compared to EaEn group, the LaEn group was associated with a three-fold increase (OR = 2.7, P < 0.001) in the risk for poor clinical outcome: a fourfold increase (OR = 4.6, P < 0.001) in high cost admissions, and a fivefold increase (OR = 4.9, P < 0.001) in prolonged hospitalization. There was no significant difference in clinical outcomes based on endoscopy within 24, and 24-48 hours of admission.In this retrospective nationwide database analysis, undergoing LaEn was associated with both negative clinical and economic outcomes. More studies are needed to further examine the reasons for delaying endoscopy and subsequent management pathways based on the endoscopic findings. Early endoscopic evaluation could potentially improve the clinical outcomes and reduce costs of these admissions.