Abstract
Although many patients suffering from poisoning are treated in Kamamoto Red Cross Hospital, about half of them are babies and little children, and the most frequent cause is the accidental ingestion of cigarette butts. In principle, early poisoning treatment is done by washing out the stomach. Ipecac Syrup is used as a medicine to induce vomiting in Europe and America. This medicine has also become a popular household medicine. In our hospital we have been clinically using this syrup since 1987.
This report describes the clinical results of such cases and the effect of the syrup which has been prepared in our hospital for the past four years.
The syrup did not have particular side effects and was effective in more than 90 percent of the patients who had mistakenly ingested dangerous substances. The syrup was thus found to be safe and effective.
The accidental ingesting of cigarette butts is not considered to be a very serious medical problem. Less than 40 percent of such cases were treated by the induction of vomiting alone. However, the butts remained in the stomach of other patients. Nevertheless, the treatment of choice remains the induction of vomiting since stomach pumping (washing out) is stressful to the patient and also is more dangerous.
