ISOLATED PERIANAL BURNS AFTER INGESTION O F WHITE SPIRIT FOR ATTEMPTED-SUICIDE

Introduction. We report an unusual complications of prolonged contact with white spirit leading to caustic burns. Case report. A 20-year-old patient was seen for caustic perianal burns several hours after inges ting one-half liter of white spirit in an attempted suicide. Motor dia rrhoea also occurred quickly and a prolonged anal evacuation of while spirit. Complementary examinations did not reveal any lesions of the b uccal, oesophageal, gastric or rectosigmoidal mucosa. Discussion. Necr osis of the skin due to prolonged contact with petrol products is well known. Usually due to the delapidating action of dissolved petrol pro ducts on the superficial hydrolipid film and subjacent cell membranes. The absence of digestive tract lesions could be explained by the rapi d onset of motor diarrhoea which may have limited the time of contact and thus protected the digestive tract mucosa which has a high content of mucopolysaccharides and a low lipid content. Conclusion. We have n ot found a similar case reported in the literature.