Tongue necrosis as a complication of temporal arteritis.
Tongue necrosis is a rare complication in giant cell arteritis, an entity in which both temporal arteritis and rheumatic polymyalgia may be included as two different manifestations of the same pathologic process. The case of a 79-year-old patient who had tongue necrosis 3 hours after ingestion of 2 mg of ergotamine tartrate is presented. This complication was the basis for the diagnosis of temporal arteritis. We reviewed possible clinical manifestations of temporal arteritis and cases of tongue necrosis in the world literature. The possible existence of triggering factors that seemed to be present in 11 of the published cases was analyzed. In seven of these cases ingestion of ergotamine derivates had taken place.
Llorente Pendás
S
S
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital Central Universitario de Asturias, Spain.
De Vicente Rodríguez
J C
JC
González García
M
M
Junquera Gutierrez
L M
LM
López Arranz
J S
JS
D000368:Aged; D004878:Ergotamine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D009336:Necrosis; D014059:Tongue / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D014060:Tongue Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery
D004878:Ergotamine