Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute Abdomen
Background. The clinical features of a presumed capsaicin intoxication have not been reported so far. Case Presentation. A 27-year-old man took part in a qualifying for a competition in spicy food tolerance. During this qualifying, he swallowed 4 chili peppers type Bhut jolokia (about 1 million Scov...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Case Reports in Medicine |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/3610401 |
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| author | Simona Koprdova Christine Schürmann Dirk Peetz Thomas Dürbye Frank Kolligs Herbert Koop |
| author_facet | Simona Koprdova Christine Schürmann Dirk Peetz Thomas Dürbye Frank Kolligs Herbert Koop |
| author_sort | Simona Koprdova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. The clinical features of a presumed capsaicin intoxication have not been reported so far. Case Presentation. A 27-year-old man took part in a qualifying for a competition in spicy food tolerance. During this qualifying, he swallowed 4 chili peppers type Bhut jolokia (about 1 million Scoville units) and other extremely spicy foods; the total amount of capsaicin ingested (roughly calculated retrospectively) accounted for at least 600 mg. After 2½ hours, the patient developed severe abdominal pain, which led to hospital admission. In contrast to the severe symptoms, clinical, laboratory, and imaging examinations (ultrasound and plain X-ray of the abdomen) did not reveal any significant abnormalities. Treatment with analgesics resulted in complete regression of the abdominal pain within 30 hours. Conclusions. The clinical picture in the view of pharmacological investigations on intestinal capsaicin infusions suggests that excessive doses of capsaicin can induce severe abdominal pain; the prolonged symptoms were probably due to the failure to vomit. Thus, a capsaicin intoxication must be considered in the differential diagnosis of an acute abdomen. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f48705f5d91942d79c0f40328b310264 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-9627 1687-9635 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Reports in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-f48705f5d91942d79c0f40328b3102642025-02-03T01:28:22ZengWileyCase Reports in Medicine1687-96271687-96352020-01-01202010.1155/2020/36104013610401Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute AbdomenSimona Koprdova0Christine Schürmann1Dirk Peetz2Thomas Dürbye3Frank Kolligs4Herbert Koop5Department of General Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, Berlin, GermanyDepartment of General Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, Berlin, GermanyInstitute of Laboratory Medicine, Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, Academic Teaching Hospital, Berlin, GermanyBotanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität, Berlin, GermanyDepartment of General Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, Berlin, GermanyDepartment of General Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, Berlin, GermanyBackground. The clinical features of a presumed capsaicin intoxication have not been reported so far. Case Presentation. A 27-year-old man took part in a qualifying for a competition in spicy food tolerance. During this qualifying, he swallowed 4 chili peppers type Bhut jolokia (about 1 million Scoville units) and other extremely spicy foods; the total amount of capsaicin ingested (roughly calculated retrospectively) accounted for at least 600 mg. After 2½ hours, the patient developed severe abdominal pain, which led to hospital admission. In contrast to the severe symptoms, clinical, laboratory, and imaging examinations (ultrasound and plain X-ray of the abdomen) did not reveal any significant abnormalities. Treatment with analgesics resulted in complete regression of the abdominal pain within 30 hours. Conclusions. The clinical picture in the view of pharmacological investigations on intestinal capsaicin infusions suggests that excessive doses of capsaicin can induce severe abdominal pain; the prolonged symptoms were probably due to the failure to vomit. Thus, a capsaicin intoxication must be considered in the differential diagnosis of an acute abdomen.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/3610401 |
| spellingShingle | Simona Koprdova Christine Schürmann Dirk Peetz Thomas Dürbye Frank Kolligs Herbert Koop Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute Abdomen Case Reports in Medicine |
| title | Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute Abdomen |
| title_full | Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute Abdomen |
| title_fullStr | Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute Abdomen |
| title_full_unstemmed | Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute Abdomen |
| title_short | Case Report of Presumed (In)voluntary Capsaicin Intoxication Mimicking an Acute Abdomen |
| title_sort | case report of presumed in voluntary capsaicin intoxication mimicking an acute abdomen |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/3610401 |
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