[Treatment guidelines in intestinal burns]

Intestinal burns due to ingestion of acids or alkaline materials still put the physician in a difficult position because until now it is not possible to correlate the amount of ingested material to the extent of damage that can be expected. Furthermore, there are no objective criteria to determine the depth of the burn. Diagnosis is based on endoscopy. Mild, moderate and severe damage can be differentiated endoscopically. Mild and moderate burns are not operated upon primarily. Surgery is indicated with moderate burns whenever complications occur during intensive care treatment, and generally with severe corrosive burns. Operative management depends on intraoperative findings.