The trouble with teething--misdiagnosis and misuse of a topical medicament.
For many clinicians and parents "teething" remains a convenient diagnosis to explain all manner of local and systemic upset in the young child. Many therapies are on the market to help alleviate the symptoms of primary tooth eruption. In this article we highlight the problems of "teething" as a diagnosis by presenting a case where an initial misdiagnosis of teething compromised a patient's life. The same patient then suffered from topical analgesic misuse during the recovery period.
Wilson
P H R
PH
Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, Floor 26, Guy's Tower, London SE1 9RT, UK.
Mason
C
C
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002794:Choline / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004452:Echocardiography; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008528:Mefenamic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects; D012459:Salicylates / Q000009:adverse effects; D014078:Tooth Eruption / Q000502:physiology*
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D012459:Salicylates; D008528:Mefenamic Acid; C012817:cetalkonium chloride; C015075:choline salicylate; D002794:Choline