Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine

Case Presentation: We describe a case of a man who developed severe caustic injury of his upper gastrointestinal tract after ingestion of a commercially available 9.5% hydrochloric acidic cleaning solution. He rapidly deteriorated and required endotracheal intubation. He underwent several imaging modalities demonstrating his injuries and ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

Discussion: Acidic caustic ingestions may range in severity and uncommonly result in death. Diagnosis is most often achieved by esophagogastroduodenoscopy, although computed tomography may increasingly play a role in defining the extent of injury. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy findings are often assigned a Zargar grade, which guides management. Medical management of acidic caustic ingestion may include bowel rest, steroids, antibiotics, and proton pump inhibitors depending on the extent of injury, although surgery may be required if esophageal perforation occurs.