Exposure to liquid detergent capsules: A study undertaken by the UK National Poisons Information Service

Williams, Hayley; Bateman, D. N.; Thomas, Simon; Thompson, John Paul; Scott, Robert A H; Vale, J. A.

doi:10.3109/15563650.2012.709937

Cited by 53 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…2 Our finding that ingestion is the most common route of exposure corroborates the results of other studies. 2,4,6 Most patients in this study experienced only minor clinical effects from any route of exposure to laundry detergent pods, which generally agrees with findings from other studies in the United Kingdom and United States. 2,6 However, only approximately half (53.5%) of the exposures in this study were managed on site at a non-health care facility compared with 85.4% for all exposures reported to the NPDS during 2012 and 2013 among children younger than 6 years.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…2,4,6 Most patients in this study experienced only minor clinical effects from any route of exposure to laundry detergent pods, which generally agrees with findings from other studies in the United Kingdom and United States. 2,6 However, only approximately half (53.5%) of the exposures in this study were managed on site at a non-health care facility compared with 85.4% for all exposures reported to the NPDS during 2012 and 2013 among children younger than 6 years. Furthermore, compared with exposures overall, laundry detergent pod exposures required higher levels of care at health care facilities; they were more likely to be seen in a health care facility and treated and released (9.7% vs 35.4%), admitted to a non-critical care unit (0.8% vs 2.4%), and admitted to a critical care unit (0.6% vs 2.0%).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Studies from the United Kingdom have characterized the most common routes of pod exposure among children, the severity of these exposures, and clinical features seen with each route of exposure. 6,9,10 Detrimental ocular effects, including conjunctivitis, keratitis, and corneal epithelial burns, after ocular exposures to detergent pods have been welldocumented in European literature and recently in Canadian case studies. 6,11,12 In Italy, laundry detergent pods have become the most commonly ingested household product since becoming available in 2010.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6,9,10 Detrimental ocular effects, including conjunctivitis, keratitis, and corneal epithelial burns, after ocular exposures to detergent pods have been welldocumented in European literature and recently in Canadian case studies. 6,11,12 In Italy, laundry detergent pods have become the most commonly ingested household product since becoming available in 2010. 13 Using a national database, this study investigates the epidemiologic characteristics of laundry detergent pod exposures and consequences among US children after these products entered the US consumer market in 2012.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1,4,5 Serious medical consequences have been documented, including respiratory distress, marked lethargy and depression of consciousness, and damage to oropharyngeal mucosa. 1,[4][5][6] Literature on laundry detergent pod exposure in the United States consists largely of case series, abstracts, smallsample data reports from a single state, or national data that span only a brief time period. 1,2,4,5,7,8 Case reports have elucidated some of the most serious clinical consequences after detergent pod ingestion.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pediatric Exposure to Laundry Detergent Pods

et al. 2014

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OBJECTIVE: Laundry detergent pods are a new product in the US marketplace. This study investigates the epidemiologic characteristics and outcomes of laundry detergent pod exposures among young children in the United States. METHODS: Using data from the National Poison Data System, exposures to laundry detergent pods among children younger than 6 years of age during 2012–2013 were investigated. RESULTS: There were 17 230 children younger than 6 years exposed to laundry detergent pods in 2012–2013. From March 2012 to April 2013, the monthly number of exposures increased by 645.3%, followed by a 25.1% decrease from April to December 2013. Children younger than 3 years accounted for 73.5% of cases. The major route of exposure was ingestion, accounting for 79.7% of cases. Among exposed children, 4.4% were hospitalized and 7.5% experienced a moderate or major medical outcome. A spectrum of clinical effects from minor to serious was seen with ingestion and ocular exposures. There were 102 patients (0.6%) exposed to a detergent pod via ingestion, aspiration, or a combination of routes, including ingestion, who required tracheal intubation. There was 1 confirmed death. CONCLUSIONS: Laundry detergent pods pose a serious poisoning risk to young children. This nationwide study underscores the need for increased efforts to prevent exposure of young children to these products, which may include improvements in product packaging and labeling, development of a voluntary product safety standard, and public education. Product constituent reformulation is another potential strategy to mitigate the severity of clinical effects of laundry detergent pod exposure.

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