Short-term and long-term management of caustic-induced gastrointestinal injury: An evidence-based practice guidelines

The Indian Society of Gastroenterology has developed an evidence-based practice guideline for the management of caustic ingestion-related gastrointestinal (GI) injuries. A modified Delphi process was used to arrive at this consensus containing 41 statements. These statements were generated after two rounds of electronic voting, one round of physical meeting, and extensive review of the available literature. The exact prevalence of caustic injury and ingestion in developing countries is not known, though it appears to be of significant magnitude to pose a public health problem. The extent and severity of this preventable injury to the GI tract determine the short and long-term outcomes. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy is the preferred initial approach for the evaluation of injury and contrast-enhanced computed tomography is reserved only for specific situations. Low-grade injuries (Zargar grade ≤ 2a) have shown better outcomes with early oral feeding and discharge from hospital. However, patients with high-grade injury (Zargar grade ≥ 2b) require hospitalization as they are at a higher risk for both short and long-term complications, including luminal narrowing. These strictures can be managed endoscopically or surgically depending on the anatomy and extent of stricture, expertise available and patients' preferences. Nutritional support all along is crucial for all these patients until nutritional autonomy is established.