LAUSR

Background Caustic Ingestion in children has serious repercussions. Despite this fact, the problem persists especially in developing countries with little information about its impact on children as well as preventive measures to curb it. Evidence about the scope of this problem, the circumstances surrounding it and its health impact on children is needed to inform the development of preventive interventions. Aim This study aimed to determine the incidence and health impacts of caustic soda ingestion (CSI) in children admitted to a Community Hospital in Sierra Leone. Method A retrospective review of the admission records and files of children admitted for CSI from January 2010 to December 2017 was done. The number of children admitted over the 8 year period; and those admitted for CSI with their demographic profile, circumstances surrounding their ingestions, and various factors influencing their health, as a result, were collected using a pro-forma. Excel and SPSS were used to analyse the data including associations between variables. Result The incidence of CSI in children in this hospital over the 8 year period was 25/1000. The files of 321 children were reviewed. About 80% of these children were less than 5 years old, with an age range of 7 months to 18 years, a median age of 3 and an IQR of 3. Most ingestions occurred in children from rural areas, at home and 84% were accidental. More than half developed esophageal stricture (ES) and other complications. The average number of admissions and length of hospital stays were 5 (1–25 days) and 21 (1–102 days) respectively. Treatment outcome for ES was successful in only 13.1% of patients. Conclusion This study has shown that CSI continues to be a preventable menace in children, resulting in various complications; some of which are lifelong. It has also revealed the size of the problem, situations which predispose CSI in children and its health impacts. This information can be useful in creating preventive measures to tackle the problem of CSI in children in SL.