Gasoline and Kerosene Poisoning in Children

This article comprises a summary of the clinical and laboratory examinations in seven cases of gasoline poisoning and sixty-five cases of kerosene poisoning in children admitted to the Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital between October 1931 and July 1933. The ages ranged from 10 months to 4 years. A considerable number of children have been brought to the emergency room of the hospital with a history of having taken one or the other of these petroleum products. Only those showing signs of acute poisoning, however, were admitted to the hospital. Those showing very little evidence of acute poisoning were allowed to return to their homes after treatment consisting of gastric lavage and a laxative. The essentials of several of the cases are herewith reported. REPORT OF CASES Case 1.— A boy, aged 14 months, Mexican, was admitted in a stuporous condition. He had swallowed a "small amount" of gasoline about