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Letters
Liquid detergent capsule ingestion in children: an increasing trend
  1. Lyndsay Fraser1,
  2. David Wynne1,
  3. W Andrew Clement1,
  4. Mark Davidson2,
  5. Haytham Kubba1
  1. 1Department of ENT, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, UK
  2. 2Paediatric Intensive Care Department, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Lyndsay Fraser, Department of ENT, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Dalnair Street, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UK; LyndsayFraser{at}doctors.org.uk

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We wish to highlight a cluster of cases we have experienced over the past 18 months of laryngopharyngeal injury following the accidental ingestion of liquid detergent capsules (commonly known as liquitabs). Five children, all under the age of 2, were admitted as emergencies with stridor and drooling after biting into a liquid detergent capsule. All were taken immediately to theatre for panendoscopy assessment. Table 1 illustrates the endoscopic findings and management for each child.

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Table 1

Endoscopic findings and management of children admitted

Dishwasher and washing machine liquitabs are now a common finding in most homes but unfortunately seem very attractive to young children due to their bright colouring and soft ‘sweetie-like’ texture. There …

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Footnotes

  • Contributors All authors were involved in the care of the individual children described, literature review and writing of the letter.

  • Competing interests None.

  • Patient consent Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.