AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 264, Issue 1 150-G156, Copyright © 1993 by American Physiological Society
Protection against alkali injury to rabbit esophagus by CO2 inhalation
R. L. Meyers, L. Glenn and R. C. Orlando
University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill 27599.
Lye ingestion, a poisoning with no known effective treatment, frequently
results in esophageal ulceration and healing by stricture formation. Tissue
injury by lye is due to its alkalinity, and so therapy is logically
directed at neutralization by acid. Here we describe a novel method, the
inhalation of CO2, for the rapid delivery of (carbonic) acid capable of
neutralizing tissue and luminal alkalinity. We also show that CO2
inhalation in anesthetized rabbits provides protection to the lye-exposed
esophagus against transepithelial necrosis. This method has the potential
to protect the human esophagus against lye injury, because it is relatively
safe, rapidly effective, and can be administered in the field under
emergency circumstances.
