Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Esophageal strictures secondary to accidental ingestion of caustic soda represents a catastrophic occurrence in children in our communities. Such children are usually referred very late for treatment. The aim is to report our attempts at limiting the damage done by this substance in the form of advocacy and our experience in managing the condition.
We considered all children who had ingested caustic soda from March to March and were admitted to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for management. A feeding gastrostomy is usually fashioned for all the children with various lengths of strictures. Colon replacement of the esophagus was performed for a few of them several months later. For a period of 7 years, 66 children had corrosive strictures of the esophagus from accidentally swallowing solutions of caustic soda used in preparing local soaps.
Only 60 folders were available for analysis. The mean age was 3. Feeding gastrostomy was performed for all the children. To date, only 13 children have had colon replacement of the esophagus done, and 3 have died. The number of children with this condition is staggering and increasing yearly. Advocacy in government circles and education of people in communities where caustic soda is used to manufacture soap will go a long way to help curb this.
We analyzed patient demographics, including age, place of origin and use of mercy funds. The number of congenital anomaly procedures increased from 49 cases per year in to cases in Though delayed presentation of patients to HEAL was obvious average age 8. The average distance travelled to HEAL was km, with more than one-third of patients travelling more than km to reach the hospital.
The mortality for surgery averaged less than 1. Distance and poverty are important barriers to obtaining care at HEAL. Preventive and surveillance programs are urgently needed in rural areas, as are education and training programs for all health workers who handle neonates, to promote early diagnosis and prompt referral of congenital malformations as well as inform about the availability of mercy funds to cover travel and treatment costs.
