Gastric Content Analysis in Clinical and Toxicological Investigations: Is It a Valuable Tool?
- 1Department of Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Chughtai Healthcare, Lahore.
- 2King Edward Medical University/ Mayo Hospital, Lahore.
Abstract
Introduction
Poisoning is a major global health concern and remains a leading cause of preventable injury-related mortality worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, poisoning accounted for approximately 84,000 deaths globally in 2019. In Pakistan and other LMICs, poisoning continues to be a significant public health burden, with unintentional exposure contributing substantially to mortality. Self-poisoning is more prevalent in LMICs due to pesticide availability, socioeconomic stressors, and limited access to emergency toxicology services. In contrast, high-income countries report drug overdoses as the leading cause of poisoning-related deaths.1,2
Initial management of suspected poisoning in emergency settings includes gastrointestinal decontamination strategies such as gastric lavage, activated charcoal administration, and supportive care.3 Gastric lavage is most effective when performed within one hour of ingestion; beyond this period, systemic absorption reduces its efficacy.4 Although the clinical use of gastric lavage has declined, gastric content analysis continues to provide valuable diagnostic and forensic information in selected cases. However, its role in modern toxicology remains under discussion due to methodological and economic limitations.
Related
- Baseline Clinical Predictors and Toxicological Drivers of In-Hospital Poisoning Mortality in Resource-Constrained Emergency Care: A Firth Penalized Regression Analysis.
- Radiosynthesis and quality control testing of two ¹⁸F-labeled radiopharmaceuticals for α-synuclein imaging in clinical investigations.
- Comparative Evaluation of Large Language Model Interfaces in Third Molar Surgery Complication Scenarios: Response Quality, Clinical Content, Potential Clinical Risk, Readability, and Externally Observable Response Latency—A Cross-Sectional Comparative Benchmark Study
- Integrated transcriptomic and clinical analyses reveal the prognostic relevance of GPC3 and a putative ceRNA-associated relationship in gastric cancer
- Metaplasia intestinal gástrica: actualización en epidemiología, diagnóstico, estratificación del riesgo y manejo clínico Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia: an Update on Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Risk Stratification, and Clinical Management
BibTeX
@article{makhdoom2026gastric,
title = {{Gastric Content Analysis in Clinical and Toxicological Investigations: Is It a Valuable Tool?}},
author = {Humera Shafi Makhdoom and Zobia Farooq and Saim Amir and Zaofashan Zaheer and Mahnoor Usman},
journal = {Pakistan Journal of Medical Research},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
url = {https://pjmr.org.pk/index.php/pjmr/article/view/942},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Gastric Content Analysis in Clinical and Toxicological Investigations: Is It a Valuable Tool?
AU - Humera Shafi Makhdoom
AU - Zobia Farooq
AU - Saim Amir
AU - Zaofashan Zaheer
AU - Mahnoor Usman
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Pakistan Journal of Medical Research
UR - https://pjmr.org.pk/index.php/pjmr/article/view/942
AB - Introduction Poisoning is a major global health concern and remains a leading cause of preventable injury-related mortality worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, poisoning accounted for approximately 84,000 deaths globally in 2019. In Pakistan and other LMICs, poisoning continues to be a significant public health burden, with unintentional exposure contributing substantially to mortality. Self-poisoning is more prevalent in LMICs due to pesticide availability, socioeconomic stressors, and limited access to emergency toxicology services. In contrast, high-income countries report drug overdoses as the leading cause of poisoning-related deaths.1,2 Initial management of suspected poisoning in emergency settings includes gastrointestinal decontamination strategies such as gastric lavage, activated charcoal administration, and supportive care.3 Gastric lavage is most effective when performed within one hour of ingestion; beyond this period, systemic absorption reduces its efficacy.4 Although the clinical use of gastric lavage has declined, gastric content analysis continues to provide valuable diagnostic and forensic information in selected cases. However, its role in modern toxicology remains under discussion due to methodological and economic limitations.
SN - 0030-9842
ER -