Influence of age on the survival and mortality rate in acute caustic poisonings.
OBJECTIVE
Acute poisonings with caustic substances can cause severe chemical injuries to the upper gastrointestinal tract, which can be localized from the mouth to the small intestines. They are seen very often among young people in their most productive years. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of patient's age on the mortality rate and survival of patients with acute caustic poisonings, and also to analyze their correlation.


METHODS
We studied medical records from 415 patients, aged between 14 and 90 years, who were hospitalized and treated at the University Clinic for toxicology and urgent internal medicine, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, in the period between 2007 and 2011.


RESULTS
In the survey we included 415 patients with acute corrosive poisonings, from which 295 (71.08%) were females and 120 (28. 92%) were males. 388 (93.49%) from the total number of patients ingested the corrosive agent with suicidal attempt and 27 (6.5%) ingested it accidentally.


CONCLUSIONS
Unregulated production, import, packing and labeling of various caustic agents, due to inappropriate legislative, made them one of the most often abused substances in everyday life, especially in developing countries where the number of caustic poisonings rises.
University Clinic of Toxicology, Clinical Center, University "Ss Cyril and Metodius", Medical faculty, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
Andon
A
Chibishev
University Clinic of Toxicology, Clinical Center, University "Ss Cyril and Metodius", Medical faculty, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
Marija
M
Glasnovic
University Clinic of Toxicology, Clinical Center, University "Ss Cyril and Metodius", Medical faculty, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
Milena
M
Miletic
University Clinic of Toxicology, Clinical Center, University "Ss Cyril and Metodius", Medical faculty, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
Ivica
I
Smokovski
Boston University, Health Informatics Lab, Metropolitan College, Boston, MA, USA.
Lou
L
Chitkushev
age of patients; caustic substances; intensive care; mortality; survival rate