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Caustic ingestion: CT findings of esophageal injuries and thoracic complications

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Abstract

Ingestion of caustic substances, whether accidental or for the purpose of suicide, can cause severe lesions of the lips, oral cavity, pharynx, upper gastrointestinal system, and upper airways. In particular, caustic agents could be responsible for severe esophageal injuries resulting in short- and long-term complications. Because of these important clinical implications, timely diagnosis and appropriate management are crucial. In the evaluation of esophageal injuries, thoraco-abdominal computed tomography (CT) is preferable to endoscopy as it avoids the risk of esophageal perforation and allows the evaluation of esophageal injuries as well as of the surrounding tissue. In this review, we report CT findings of esophageal injuries and possible related thoracic complications caused by caustic ingestion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Radiology, Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics (Bi.N.D.), University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127, Palermo, Italy

    Giuseppe Cutaia, Marianna Messina, Sara Rubino, Elisabetta Reitano, Leonardo Salvaggio, Ilenia Costanza, Francesco Agnello, Ludovico La Grutta, Massimo Midiri & Giuseppe Salvaggio

  2. Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Giuseppe Cutaia

  3. Otorhinolaryngology Section, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostic (Bi.N.D.), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Rosalia Gargano

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  1. Giuseppe Cutaia
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Contributions

Giuseppe Salvaggio and Rosalia Gargano provided the conception and design of the study.

Leonardo Salvaggio, Sara Rubino and Elisabetta Raitano provided literature search.

Marianna Messina, Ludovico La Grutta, and Francesco Agnello provided literature selection.

Ilenia Costanza provided imaging search and selection.

Giuseppe Cutaia and Giuseppe Salvaggio provided drafting the article

Massimo Midiri and Rosalia Gargano were responsible for the article critically for important intellectual content.

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Correspondence to Giuseppe Salvaggio.

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Cutaia, G., Messina, M., Rubino, S. et al. Caustic ingestion: CT findings of esophageal injuries and thoracic complications. Emerg Radiol 28, 845–856 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-021-01918-1

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