Occult dental infection as a cause of fever of obscure origin

Levinson, Sidney L.; Barondess, Jeremiah A.

doi:10.1016/0002-9343(79)91073-8

Cited by 26 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Analogously, other authors have identified "occult dental infections" (apical periodontitis) as reasons for arthritis or fever of unknown origin [4,12,14]. Apical periodontitis is a chronic, asymptomatic form of a localized infection which -in contrast to dental abscesses associated with redness, swelling, pain, and fever -is not thought to lead to bacterial invasion into the bloodstream.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Streptococci are mostly responsible for infectious diseases of dental origin [1,5,7,10,18]. They may cause symptoms and such diseases as erythema nodosum, infective arthritis, fever of unknown origin, glomerulonephritis, or bacterial endocarditis [4,12,14]. Following treatment of the infectious focus (by tooth extraction, root resection, antibiotic therapy) the patient's symptoms generally disappear, meaning that the underlying apical periodontitis must be the reason for the observed disease [4,12,14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They may cause symptoms and such diseases as erythema nodosum, infective arthritis, fever of unknown origin, glomerulonephritis, or bacterial endocarditis [4,12,14]. Following treatment of the infectious focus (by tooth extraction, root resection, antibiotic therapy) the patient's symptoms generally disappear, meaning that the underlying apical periodontitis must be the reason for the observed disease [4,12,14]. A more evident connection, however, is that of gingival bleeding associated dental treatment (e.g., extractions or removal of dental deposits) and the development of bacteremia [10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three days before the occurrence of the erythematous nodules, a decayed gangrenous tooth (14) was fractured in the coronal region and had been extracted immediately there after by a dentist. On admission to our hospital 14 days after the onset of the erythema nodosum, the patient complained of weakness, weight loss (2.5 kg during the preceding 2 weeks), and nocturnal sweating.…”

Section: Casementioning

confidence: 99%

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Erythema nodosum of dental origin

Kirch

1992

Clin Investig

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The association of erythema nodosum and dental infectious foci has rarely been described in the literature. This report concerns four women who developed erythema nodosum either following dental treatment associated with gingival bleeding or due to infectious dental foci. In these cases, tooth extraction, removal of dental deposits, interrupted pulp treatment, apical periodontitis, or a relicted root were identified as causes of the development of erythema nodosum. Upon admission to the hospital, these patients also presented fever and and a maximally elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). In all instances, surgical treatment of the dental foci and/or administration of antibiotics rapidly led to the regression of the erythema nodosum, as well as to the normalization of body temperature and ESR. The cases described indicate that antecedent dental treatment and the possible presence of infectious dental foci should be considered in the differential diagnosis of erythema nodosum when taking the patient's medical history. This approach may avoid unnecessary, possibly invasive diagnostic procedures and can lead to rapid improvement in the patient's clinical status.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%