Caustic Burns in Adults: Epidemiological, Clinical, Endoscopic and Evolutionary Aspects at Sourô Sanou University Hospital Center in Bobo-Dioulasso

The ingestion of a caustic product is a frequent and sometimes serious accident which can, in the acute phase, bring into play the vital and functional prognosis. The authors report the results of their experiments on 18 cases of caustic ingestion. This was a retrospective descriptive study conducted from February 2012 to January 2016 in the Hepatogastroenterology department of Souro-Sanou University Hospital Centre of Bobo-Dioulasso, Bobo-Dioulasso. All patients over the age of 15 admitted for ingestion of caustics and having undergone upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were included. During the 48-months study period, 18 cases of caustic ingestion were recorded, of which 8 men were a sex ratio of 0.8. The average age was 31.25 ± 13.26 years. Ingestion of caustic was voluntary in 8 out of 10 cases. Ingested product was acidic in 66.67% of cases. The clinical picture was defined by hematemesis (50%) and oral lesions (38.89%). Endoscopic lesions were dominated by stage IIb (50%) of ZARGAR. The evolution was marked by a lethality of 11.11%. Caustic burns of the digestive tract are infrequent but serious in our context. Endoscopy plays a very important role in the diagnosis, but their management remains difficult.