TY - JOUR PY - 2015// TI - Caustic ingestion-a forensic overview JO - Journal of forensic sciences A1 - Byard, Roger W. SP - 812 EP - 815 VL - 60 IS - 3 N2 - 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.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0022-1198 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12741 ID - ref1 ER -