1. Comparison of titratable acid/alkaline reserve and pH in potentially caustic household products.
- Author
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Hoffman RS, Howland MA, Kamerow HN, and Goldfrank LR
- Subjects
- Animals, Burns, Chemical pathology, Caustics analysis, Dogs, Esophagus pathology, Household Products analysis, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Models, Biological, Regression Analysis, Burns, Chemical etiology, Caustics adverse effects, Esophagus injuries, Household Products adverse effects
- Abstract
Exposure to caustic agents is a common problem, affecting thousands of individuals annually. Despite this incidence, the factors responsible for the production of injury remain poorly defined. Although extremes of pH seem to correlate well with the production of esophageal lesions, pH alone fails to explain the damage resulting from exposure to agents with near neutral pH, such as soldering flux containing zinc chloride. We determined titratable acid/alkaline reserve (TAR) in 38 potentially caustic household agents. A subset of these products was evaluated in an in-vitro canine esophageal model to determine whether TAR correlated with esophageal injury. The results indicate that for the products evaluated TAR correlated better than pH with the production of caustic esophageal injury.
- Published
- 1989
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