Sticky situations: cyanoacrylate exposures reported to a poison control system

Area of Science:

• Toxicology
• Emergency Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) exposures are frequently reported to poison control centers.
• Limited medical literature exists on these common exposures.
• This study aimed to characterize cyanoacrylate exposures reported to a poison control system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the nature of cyanoacrylate exposures reported to a poison control system.
• To analyze patient demographics, exposure routes, clinical effects, and treatments.
• To identify potential areas for standardization of treatment recommendations.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of a poison system database from 2005 to 2015.
• Inclusion of single-substance human exposure cases to cyanoacrylate products.
• Data collection on age, gender, exposure route, clinical effects, treatments, and outcomes.

Main Results:

• 893 patients were included, with a median age of 11 years; 56.6% were female.
• Most exposures (97.5%) were unintentional, with ingestion (37.7%) and ocular (36.1%) being the most common routes.
• No major effects or deaths were reported; 73.6% were managed on-site, and 26.4% required healthcare facility visits.

Conclusions:

• The majority of cyanoacrylate exposures occur in children and typically do not lead to significant morbidity.
• There is considerable variation in recommended treatments for cyanoacrylate exposures.
• Further research is needed to establish optimal treatment methods and standardize poison center recommendations.