Abstract
1. A study of the physical properties of three furniture polishes reveals that the viscosity is low and of the same magnitude as kerosene and turpentine and thus the hazard of aspiration is considerable.
2. Similar pulmonary lesions were produced in rats by intratracheal and intravenous furniture polish. Two probable mechanisms causing pulmonary injury have been implicated: (a) direct contact by aspiration; (b) excretion of hydrocarbon from the blood through the alveolar capillary wall.
3. The absence of pulmonary involvement in rats that received as much as 60 cc/kg of furniture polish by intraduodenal instillation suggests that the pulmonary lesion cannot be produced by the amount of hydrocarbon absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, the furniture polish does not appear to injure the intestinal mucosa or the liver significantly. On the basis of these results we believe that gastric lavage should not be used in the treatment of furniture polish ingestion.
- Accepted January 22, 1964.
- Copyright © 1964 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
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