A critique of systemic steroids in the management of caustic esophageal burns in children.

Five hundred and nineteen NaOH ingestion cases were admitted to our department between 1975 and 1994, and examined via esophagoscopy in the first 48 hours. Two hundred and forty-six patients in this series were diagnosed as severe burns endoscopically. This group of 246 patients were evaluated in a retrospective study to determine whether systemic steroid treatment had any place in preventing stricture formation following severe esophageal burns. Seventy-nine patients in this group were divided into three subgroups and they received methyl prednisolone parenterally in three different regimens. The control group consisted of 167 patients admitted between the years 1986 and 1994 who did not receive any form of steroid treatment. There were no statistically significant differences between the healing rates of the subgroups and the control group (p > 0.01). The authors concluded that systemic steroid treatment has no beneficial effect on esophageal wound healing following caustic esophageal burns.