A CRITIQUE OF SYSTEMIC STEROIDS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CAUSTIC ESOPHAGEAL BURNS IN CHILDREN

Five hundred and nineteen NaOH ingestion cases were admitted to our de partment between 1975 and 1994, and examined via esophagoscopy in the first 48 hours. Two hundred and forty-six patients in this series were diagnosed as severe burns endoscopically. This group of 246 patients were evaluated in a retrospective study to determine whether systemic steroid treatment had any place in preventing stricture formation foll owing severe esophageal burns. Seventy-nine patients in this group wer e divided into three subgroups and they received methyl prednisolone p arenterally in three different regimens. The control group consisted o f 167 patients admitted between the years 1986 and 1994 who did not re ceive any form of steroid treatment. There were no statistically signi ficant differences between the healing rates of the subgroups and the control group (p>0.01). The authors concluded that systemic steroid tr eatment has no beneficial effect on esophageal wound healing following caustic esophageal burns.