title: Constipation complication: lung injury following inadvertent intravenous injection of liquid paraffin.
abstract: Liquid paraffin is a highly refined petroleum derivative commonly used medicinally as an oral laxative in Lesotho. We present the case of a 22-year-old Basotho woman admitted under the care of gynaecology in a rural hospital in Lesotho. She was inadvertently administered 10 mL of intravenous liquid paraffin. There were no immediate complications. After 48 h, the patient became unwell with frank haemoptysis and features of systemic inflammation. A chest X-ray demonstrated new bilateral pulmonary infiltrates. She made a full clinical and radiological recovery with a 5-day course of high-dose oral prednisolone and broad-spectrum antibiotics. She was discharged home in a stable condition.
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK.
authors.forename: Siôn Edryd
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK.
authors.forename: Marie Helena
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Docherty
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003248:Constipation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D055370:Lung Injury / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D008508:Medication Errors; D008899:Mineral Oil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D008899:Mineral Oil