Oral Injuries Associated With Sodium Hydroxide

Aim: The aim of the present article is to present and discuss the diagnosis and management of a patient who accidentally re-ported an oral injury due to sodium hydroxide.Material and Methods: An 83-year-old female patient was referred to the emergency department with lip, oral and tonguelesions. The patient was confused and her recent medical history was unclear: she reported having the intention to drink somesodium hydroxide in order to improve her digestion, but after keeping it in her mouth for some seconds, she described an imme-diate burning sensation in her mouth and said she had spat it out without swallowing. She arrived at the emergency room 3 hafter this episode.Results: Physical examination showed erythema and swelling of the lips, and a diffuse erythema with ulcerations in the oralcavity. Abdominal examination was normal, without pain during palpation. The absence of laryngeal, oesophageal, or gastricinjuries was confirmed by a gastrointestinal endoscopy and a nasofibroscopy. Then, the patient was administered intravenousantibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor, in addition to hydration with saline solution, and she was kept under medical supervi-sion in the emergency room for 12 h before a possible return to home.Conclusions: It is important that the dental practitioners are aware of the clinical features of the oral cavity that could be asso-ciated with the ingestion of caustic substances. An early management with intravenous treatment and a complete and carefuldiagnostic work-up is necessary in such cases.