Skin burns from monochloroacetic acid leak in a chemical plant: a case report

Skin burns from monochloroacetic acid

Abstract

The patient, a 45-year-old male chemical factory worker, was burned by monochloroacetic acid discharged from a ruptured pipe. The patient was merely flushed with water and did not leave the workplace immediately. As a result, he suffered local burn symptoms, which gradually worsened. Two and a half hours after the accident, he developed symptoms of systemic poisoning, such as lethargy and dyspnoea. After a thorough debridement of the wound surface and subsequent skin grafting combined with early glucocorticoid therapy and haemofiltration, a satisfactory result was achieved, and the patient eventually recovered. With the widespread use of monochloroacetic acid in China, incidents of poisoning with this chemical are becoming increasingly common, with more than 100 cases reported in the past ten years in China alone.