[Early mortality after ingestion of caustic substances].

The authors define the management of a patient following emergency admission for the ingestion of a caustic liquid: immediate assessment by fibroscope oesophagoscopy; avoidance of all corticosteroid therapy and of the insertion of a gastric tube; parenteral alimentation. The frequency of early deaths has considerably decreased since the applications of this method, either as a result of shock or of the inhalation of caustic liquid.