Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 6, 2022; 10(28): 10201-10207
Published online Oct 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i28.10201
Clinical analysis of pipeline dredging agent poisoning: A case report
Ya-Qian Li, Guang-Cai Yu, Long-Ke Shi, Li-Wen Zhao, Zi-Xin Wen, Bao-Tian Kan, Xiang-Dong Jian
Ya-Qian Li, Guang-Cai Yu, Long-Ke Shi, Li-Wen Zhao, Xiang-Dong Jian, Department of Poisoning and Occupational Diseases, Emergency Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China
Long-Ke Shi, Li-Wen Zhao, Xiang-Dong Jian, School of Public Health, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China
Zi-Xin Wen, Bao-Tian Kan, School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Li YQ, Zhao LW, and Yu GC contributed to manuscript writing; Yu GC and Shi LK contributed to manuscript editing and literature review; Jian XD, Wen ZX, and Kan BT contributed to revision of the final manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient’s family for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiang-Dong Jian, PhD, Professor, Department of Poisoning and Occupational Diseases, Emergency Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, No. 107 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China. jianxiangdongvip@vip.163.com
Received: April 11, 2022
Peer-review started: April 11, 2022
First decision: July 11, 2022
Revised: July 20, 2022
Accepted: August 23, 2022
Article in press: August 23, 2022
Published online: October 6, 2022
Processing time: 169 Days and 3.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Pipeline dredging agents are new household deep cleaning products used to dredge blockages in kitchen and bathroom pipeline caused by grease, hair, vegetable residue, paper cotton fibre, and other organic substances. Pipeline dredging agents are corrosive chemicals that can cause poisoning through corrosive damage to the digestive tract; however, this has not been reported clinically. Therefore, this report emphasises that oral pipeline dredging agent poisoning can cause corrosive damage to the digestive tract and may have serious health consequences.

CASE SUMMARY

A 68-year-old man consumed liquor (200 mL) at approximately 13:00 on April 22, 2021. At approximately 16:00, his family found him unresponsive with blackened lips, blood spots in the corners of the mouth, and blood stains on the ground, as well as an empty bottle of a pipeline dredging agent. One hour later, he was admitted to the emergency department of a local hospital. Considering the empty bottle, he was suspected to have sustained severe corrosive damage to the digestive tract and was transferred to our department at 23:15 on April 22, 2021. He developed dysphagia and intermittent fever and experienced difficulty in opening his mouth throughout his hospital stay. The patient’s condition gradually stabilised. However, he suddenly developed respiratory failure on day 12, and endotracheal intubation and ventilator-assisted ventilation were performed. However, the patient died after 1.5 h despite emergency rescue efforts.

CONCLUSION

Pipeline dredging agents are highly corrosive and may cause corrosive damage to the digestive tract and asphyxia upon consumption.

Keywords: Asphyxia; Digestive tract injury; Pipeline dredging agent; Poisoning; Respiratory failure; Case report

Core Tip: A 68-year-old man who excessively consumed a pipeline dredging agent and 200 mL liquor was admitted to our hospital for approximately 10 h. The patient was diagnosed with acute pipeline dredging agent poisoning, acute alcohol poisoning, and corrosive damage to the digestive tract. The patient died despite emergency rescue efforts for respiratory failure.