Abstract

Objectives: Management of caustic ingestion (CI) and esophageal burns are a serious problem which causes a significant burden on the health care services. Since absence of evidence-based guidelines optimal management of CI is still yet to be determined. The study aims to evaluate clinical approach of Turkish pediatric surgeons to caustic esophageal burns.

Materials and Methods: The survey questions were prepared through a literature review for controversial issues. The survey was sent to 450 member of Turkish association of pediatric surgery via Google Forms and 106 of them responded.

Results: There were 46 (43%) participants who do not perform endoscopy in whether symptomatic or asymptomatic patients in the first apply. Sixty (56%) participants preferred to perform endoscopy at the first apply. Thirty-six (34%) of participants perform endoscopy in case of certain ingestion of caustic substance, 14 (13.5%) perform in only symptomatic patients and 10 (9.5%) perform endoscopy in any suspicion of caustic ingestion. Seventy-one (67%) of the participants declared that they do not use antibiotics routinely and forty-six (45%) stated that they do not use steroids with or without esophageal burns.

Conclusion: Although some studies on CI management have been published, a clear algorithm in management of CI has not established yet. Clinicians tend to determine different follow-up and treatment algorithms based on clinical customs and their experience.