Dr Richa Harnal¹, Dr Isobel Yeap

¹Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, Australia

Abstract:

Acid attacks are acts of physical assault, where a corrosive substance is thrown at a victim with the intention of injuring, disfiguring or killing1,2. This study has two aims. Firstly, the history and current trends of acid attacks over time are discussed. Secondly, a literature review regarding the management of acid attacks is conducted.

Acid attacks were first documented in 19th century Europe, corresponding with the rise of acid manufacturing for industry3. Towards the end of the 20th century, a new wave of acid attacks was observed in developing countries, and over the past decade in the UK. Domestic abuse, refusal of sexual advances and ‘honour-based violence’ are the most common motivators in low-income countries, and typically involve female victims and male perpetrators2,4. Gang violence is the strongest motivator in the UK, with both victims and perpetrators commonly being young men4. Accessibility, minimal restrictions surrounding the purchasing of corrosive substances and lax sentencing has contributed to this recent increase4.

A literature review of “acid attack” AND “burn” yielded 23 results, of which 6 were relevant. Current evidence indicates that the severity of injuries is impacted by patients’ receiving timely treatment and coordinated multidisciplinary care4,5. Coordinating care amongst various medical or allied health specialists is crucial in preventing medical or psychological complications5,6,7. Recommendations from the literature review include expanding the MDT to account for community-based prevention, improving burns education to the public and increasing the accessibility of burns first aids kits4,8,9.

References

1. Mann, CA, Mojtahedi, D & Leadly C 2020, ‘A multi-dimensional scalogram analysis of UK acid attacks: exploring the differences and similarities in offending characteristics’, Safer Communities, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 73-87.
2. Mittal, S, Singh, T & Verma, SK 2021, ‘Role of Psychological Makeup in Psychological Rehabilitation of Acid Attack Victims’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 36, no. 23-24, pp. NPI3606-NPI3622.
3. Mittal, S, Singh, T & Verma, SK 2021b, ‘The influence of social support in the rehabilitation of acid attack victims: A qualitative inquiry’, Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology’, vol. 31, pp. 228-240.
4. Song, M, Armstrong, A & Murray, A 2020, ‘Acid attacks: Broadening the multidisciplinary team to improve outcomes’, Burns, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 514-519.
5. Didcott, S & Taylor, J 2019, ‘The impact of assault by vitriolage on quality of life: Integrative review’, Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 75, no. 11, pp. 2461-2477.
6. Hughes, CD, Dabek, RJ, Riesel, JN, Baletic, N, Chodosh, J & Bojovic, B 2019, ‘Short Runs for a Long Slide: Principalisation in Complex Facial Restoration after Acid Attack Burn Injury’, Craniomaxillofac Trauma Reconstruction, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 75-80.
7. D’Alessandro, AD, Sikon, JR, Lacy, AJ, Smith, AT & Shah, KS 2020, ‘Vitriolage by sulphuric acid: unique challenges and considerations in patient resuscitation’, The Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 59, no.4, pp. e123-e126.
8. Rasouli, HR, Ebrahimi A & Motamedi, MHK 2015, ‘Raising awareness against acid attacks’, The Lancet, vol. 385, no. 9970, pp. 772-773.
9. Lewis, CJ, Hodgkinson, EL & Allison, KP 2019, ‘Corrosive attacks in the UK- Psychosocial perspectives and decontamination strategies’, Burns, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 213-218.

Biography:

I’m an intern currently working at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with an interest in plastic and reconstructive surgery.