The very idea is bound to provoke reactions varying from 'not before time' at one extreme to open-mouthed incredulity at the other. However, any response is likely to be based on custom and preconceptions rather than objective assessment of the value of lavage, if only because the evidence is very limited and its interpretation fraught with difficulties. Gastric lavage has been a popular method of emptying the stomach for many years and is still recommended by a number of recent textbooks on poisoning (Matthew & Lawson, 1979; Proudfoot, 1982; Vale & Meredith, 1981). To advocate abandoning it is to attack one of the very pillars of the management of poisoning by ingestion and cannot be supported lightly. However, endorsement by common usage should not blind physicians to its limitations or protect it from critical appraisal.
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A. T. Proudfoot (1984) studied this question.