title: Caustic ingestion-a forensic overview.
abstract: The ingestion of corrosive substances may produce severe burns to the upper aerodigestive tract and stomach, particularly if the pH is greater than 12 or less than two. There is a biphasic age grouping with adult cases most often involving self-harm and pediatric cases accidental ingestion. Three cases are reported to demonstrate characteristic features following the ingestion of potassium hydroxide, glacial acetic acid and Lysol(®) , respectively. All deaths were due to the effects of caustic burns to the upper aerodigestive tract, esophagus and stomach with perforation and/or hemorrhage. The extent of injuries in these cases depends on the nature, amount, and concentration of the agent and on the exposure time. A point to note at autopsy is that tissue damage may also occur from postmortem exposure. Typical injuries involve perioral, limb, and trunk burns, with extensive aerodigestive liquefactive/coagulative necrosis causing hemorrhage and perforation.
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, and Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: Roger W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Byard
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D000328:Adult; D002057:Burns, Chemical / Q000473:pathology*; D002424:Caustics / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D006878:Hydroxides / Q000633:toxicity; D008875:Middle Aged; D017680:Potassium Compounds / Q000633:toxicity; D013405:Suicide
chemical_list: D002424:Caustics; D006878:Hydroxides; D017680:Potassium Compounds; D019342:Acetic Acid; C029943:potassium hydroxide
keywords: acid; alkali; caustic ingestion; chemical burns; corrosive; forensic science; suicide