A 35-month-old boy who ingested laundry detergent pods and underwent veno-pulmonary extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support

Abstract

Laundry detergent pod (LDP) exposure has been reported to be fatal in children younger than 2 years, leading to respiratory or central nervous system depression. While gastrointestinal irritation is the most common symptom, there are reported cases of severe acidosis with respiratory depression or pneumonia, resulting in mortality. To our best knowledge, there is no report on a case of LDP exposure presenting with acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. Here, we present a case of a child with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome following LDP exposure, who was successfully treated with veno-pulmonary extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and steroids.