title: [Unsuspected danger of a medicinal preparation].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inhaled foreign bodies are commonly reported in childhood but less so among adults. We report the case of a patient who inhaled a medicinal preparation containing meprobamate and quinine sulfate. The consequence of this was caustic damage to the airways.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 64-year-old woman came to the emergency room because of dyspnea, oropharyngeal pain and sialorrhea. She reported that she had inhaled a capsule containing meprobamate and quinine sulfate the previous day. Flexible bronchoscopy showed evidence of caustic damage to the larynx and lower airways. The patient was treated by fasting, corticoids and intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics. All the lesions recovered and she was discharged from the hospital 15 days after the event.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Inhalation of drugs mostly leads to airway obstruction. Risk of harm is influenced by neurological status, the motility of the digestive system and the properties of the drug. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that caustic airway disease has been described following inhalation of a medicinal preparation containing meprobamate and quinine. It highlights the need to be familiar with the chemical properties of medications when prescribing them to patients who are at risk of aspiration.
authors.affiliation: Service de pneumologie, cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, université catholique de Louvain, avenue Hippocrate-10, 1200 Bruxelles, Belgique.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gohy
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quennery
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pieters
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weynand
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liistro
mesh_terms: D001980:Bronchi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000601:surgery; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008620:Meprobamate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D009125:Muscle Relaxants, Central / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D013608:Tablets, Enteric-Coated
chemical_list: D009125:Muscle Relaxants, Central; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D013608:Tablets, Enteric-Coated; D008620:Meprobamate