Changes in the oral cavity caused by scurvy

This report presents a case of a psychiatric patient with scurvy. Upon the clinical examination of the oral cavity, dry and pale lips were noted. Gingiva was highly edematous, soft, purple blue with ulcerated margins. Bleeding was noted upon slightest provocation. Teeth were also affected by the vitamin C deficiency with multiple caries. The patient was asthenic and adynamic. Petechial bleeding and hematomas were present on the skin of extremities. Therapy consisted of rehydration and vitamin C compensation - 2 g daily i.v. during 10 days period, and 1.5 g daily orally during the following 2 months. The patient maintained only partial plaque control, and complete recovery of the oral cavity was not established because the patient didn?t comply. Concerning that scurvy is a rare disease nowadays, it is very important to recognize its clinical signs, and to establish a valid and prompt diagnosis, because, when untreated, scurvy can have severe consequences on the entire organism. Prikazan je slucaj psihijatrijske bolesnice obolele od skorbuta. Klinickim pregledom usne duplje ustanovljena je suvoca i bledilo usana. Gingiva je bila izuzetno edematozna, plavicastocrvene boje sa ulceracijama po ivici. Krvarila je i na najmanju provokaciju. Bili su prisutni multipli karijesi na zubima. Bolesnica je bila astenicna i adinamicna. Po kozi ekstremiteta bila su prisutna petehijalna krvarenja i hematomi. Opsta terapija se sastojala od rehidracije i nadoknade vitamina C, 2g dnevno iv, u toku deset dana, a naredna dva meseca je dobijala po 1,5 g vitamina C dnevno per os. Bolesnica je uspostavila samo delimicnu kontrolu plaka, a nije izvrsena potpuna sanacija usne duplje zbog lose saradnje. S obzirom na to da je skorbut danas retko oboljenje, veoma je vazno prepoznati klinicke znake bolesti i blagovremeno postaviti dijagnozu, jer skorbut moze ostaviti veoma teske posledice na citav organizam.