Deliberate corrosive substance attacks – a systematic review
Abstract
Introduction
Deliberate corrosive substance attacks (DCSA) have traditionally been associated with low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, the incidence of DCSA in certain geographical locations of the UK has increased in recent years. These attacks have a relatively low mortality rate but cause extensive life-changing injuries and the management from point of wounding to definitive care is challenging for all involved.
Methods
A systematic review was used to identify literature about DCSA and establish how much evidence about these attacks has been published over the last decade. Victim and perpetrator characteristics, substances used, injury patterns, mortality, pre-hospital and hospital-based management and complications associated with management were areas of interest. The review included any medical literature (case reports, letters, reviews) published within the last 10 years that described DCSA against human victims. Non-English language articles were excluded.
Results
Eighteen articles containing 762 victims of DCSA were included; seven victims had incomplete data. Articles were mostly from LMIC (Bangladesh, Columbia, Cambodia, India, Iran, Sri Lanka and Pakistan) but there were five articles were from the UK (three ‘Letters to Editors’, one survivor letter and one retrospective review of 21 victims). UK victim and perpetrator characteristics varied from those in LMIC. Seven papers described pre-hospital management and nine described hospital/surgical management.
Conclusions
The evidence base surrounding DCSA is limited especially in the UK setting. More research into the epidemiology and management of DCSA in the UK is warranted.
MIDER Authors
Citations
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Date
2020-03-26
Type
Article
Subject
Emergency medicine, Surgery
Collections
Citation
Moffatt S, Rhimes P. Deliberate corrosive substance attacks – A systematic review. Trauma. 2020;22(3):169-175. doi:10.1177/1460408620912568.
Journal / Source Title
Trauma
DOI
10.1177/1460408620912568
PMID
Publisher
SAGE Publications