Arterial blood gas analysis in acute caustic ingestion injuries

Purpose. Quickly differentiating patients who need emergency salvage operation for caustic ingestion injury from those who do not remains difficult. We thus conducted a retrospective study to assess whether arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis is helpful for deciding on the best management plan. Methods. We divided 129 patients with caustic ingestion injuries into two groups according to treatment. Group 1 consisted of 30 patients who underwent surgery and two who should have. Group 2 consisted of 97 patients treated conservatively. The 30 operated patients in group 1 were further divided into two groups according to whether they survived (group 3) or died (group 4). We analyzed and compared ABG data between groups 1 and 2, and between groups 3 and 4. Results. In groups 1 and 2, the mean pH was 7.22 +/- 0.12 and 7.38 +/- 0.06, respectively, and the mean base excess (BE) was -12.0 +/- 5.2 and -1.8 +/- 3.7, respectively. Both these values were significantly different between groups 1 and 2 (P < 0.001). In groups 3 and 4, the mean pH was 7.27 +/- 0.09 and 7.11 +/- 0.11, respectively, and the mean BE was -10.3 +/- 4.7 and -16.1 +/- 4.6, respectively. Both these values were significantly different between groups 3 and 4 (P < 0.001 and P < 0.005, respectively). Conclusions. ABG data can help make the right decision about treatment. An arterial pH lower than 7.22 or a BE lower than -12.0 indicates severe injury, and an emergency salvage operation should be seriously considered.