The Weekly Cheese, a short informative literature review for the EM Doc

Case: A patient presents to your ED after accidentally ingesting household bleach. The resident is getting the airway box ready to intubate but then attending says “Don’t worry. If it’s a household bleach, then it’s probably not dangerous but call Toxicology if you want”. Puzzled at the different responses, you’re not sure how to approach this patient.

This week: Hoffman RS, Burns MM, Gosselin S. Ingestion of Caustic Substances. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020 Apr 30;382(18):1739-48.