Pneumonia associated with the ingestion of petroleum products by children.

The ingestion of petroleum products by children is not infrequent. Some of the more common substances encountered are, benzene, kerosene, gasolene, and insect sprays. Kerosene is the most common poison taken by chi1dren.l The ensuing irritant and toxic manifestations have been thoroughly described by previous However, it is noteworthy that in the clinic, as well as in the literature, most of the emphasis is placed upon the gastrointestinal symptoms, and those associated with generalized intoxication, but it is only recently that our attention is being directed toward the pulmonary signs and symptoms. Whereas i t was formerly believed that the pulmonary symptoms were due to the occasional aspiration of a toxic substance, more recent observers contend that this is not always the case, but that the chest findings may be produced by the effect of a toxic agent gaining entrance into the blood stream by way of the gastrointestinal t r a ~ t . ~ l ~ Closer observation of clinical material, as well as animal experimentation, indicates that the pulmonary manifestations are an integral part of the intoxication syndrome, and make their appearance in approximately 77 per cent of all cases.= There are numerous references in the literature to poisoning by products of petroleum. B a r b ~ u r , ~ 1926, reported four cases, one of which was fatal, and Higg in~ ,~ 1933, recorded another fatal case, and suggested that the serious pulmonary sequelae were due to direct aspiration of the fluid into the lungs. Waring,g 1933, working with dogs, and later Lesser,'= with rabbits, substantiated this conclusion. Nunn and Martin,lo 1934, and Farbaugh,ll two years later, showed that the prognosis was directly proportional to the amount of poison entering the lung, and that fatalities usually occurred within 18 hours after the accident. Lesser, Weens and McKey,la 1943, produced lung changes in rabbits, only by means of a tracheal catheter leading pariffin directly into the lungs. Cassinelli,15 also in 1943, described the particular nervous system manifestations associated with broncho-pulmonary involvement. Deichman et al.,16 1944, concluded that pulmonary changes were produced by vascular damage, which resulted from