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Epidemiology and prevention of caustic ingestion in children
Author(s) -
Christesen HBT
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1994.tb13053.x
Subject(s) - medicine , epidemiology , ingestion , caustic (mathematics) , environmental health , pediatrics , pathology , physics , mathematical physics
A total of 102 children less than 16 years of age admitted for caustic ingestion in the period 1976–1991 were registrated. The annual incidence rate of hospitalizatiotl was 10.8:1 for the city of Aarhus, Denmark. Esophageal burns occurred with a frequency of 5.0:1 per year. Ninety‐four percent of the children were less than 5 years old. For this age group, the incidence rates of admission and esophageal burns were 34.6:100 000 and 15.8:100 000, respectively. All ingestions were accidental. The incidence rates of esophageal burns in children 0–4 years old ( p = 0.019) decreased significantly during the period studied. The cause of this decrease is not clear, but a change in the spectrum of household products and the gradual introduction of child‐proof caps are possible explanations. To minimize the frequency of accidents, an information campaign directed specifically at parents of toddlers is recommended. Information material should stress that caustics should always be inaccessible to children and stored separately, and should never be decanted.