An unusual presentation of hydrochloric acid ingestion: a mystery unraveled.
BACKGROUND
Unintentional acid ingestion is less commonly encountered than alkali ingestion. The injury develops for hours to days after ingestion and often results in progressively increasing difficulty in airway management. However, gastric perforation is rare.


METHODS
A 3-year-old boy presented to us with an orotonsillopharyngeal membrane and severe upper airway obstruction. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with a case of gastric perforation due to unintentional hydrochloric acid ingestion. He was treated with partial gastrectomy and feeding jejunostomy, and the recovery was good.


CONCLUSIONS
Unintentional hydrochloric acid ingestion is rare in children. The manifestations masquerade many other clinical conditions, and the diagnosis is difficult in cases in which history of ingestion is not available. Treatment is symptomatic, and emergency surgery is indicated in case of gastrointestinal perforation.
From the *G Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, Coimbatore; †Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar; ‡Global Hospital, Chennai; and §Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
Vinod Prabhu
VP
Ganapathy
Rashmi Ranjan
RR
Das
Selvakumar
S
Chinnakkannan
Shasanka Shekhar
SS
Panda
D002675:Child, Preschool; D004435:Eating; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000379:methods*; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D017219:Gastric Outlet Obstruction / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid / Q000506:poisoning*; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D006851:Hydrochloric Acid