Prediction of illness severity and outcome of children symptomatic following kerosene ingestion.

Kerosene pneumonitis is usually self-limiting and secondary infection is rare. Long-term studies in developed countries have produced conflicting results about complications. The position in developing countries, where children are exposed to adverse environmental and nutritional factors, is unknown. The aim of the present work was to determine whether there is an increase in respiratory or other illnesses following kerosene pneumonitis and whether these changes could be related to the severity of the initial lung damage. Fifty-seven children with clinical signs of pneumonitis were examined on admission and after overnight observation. Clinical signs were assessed for their usefulness for predicting severity. Cases and matched neighbourhood controls were seen every 2 weeks for 3 months. The time to predict most reliably the severity of short-term ill effects was 12-24 hours after the initial insult. There was no significant difference in respiratory symptoms during the 3-month follow-up in cases compared with controls. However, mild diarrhoea and fever were reported significantly more often in cases than in controls. Morbidity after clinical recovery was not shown to be a problem, irrespective of the severity of the acute event.