Intradermal injection for hiccup therapy in the Emergency Department

Hiccup is a condition caused by involuntary contraction of inspiratory muscles, especially the diaphragm. Although it is generally considered as a physiological. response, if hiccup persists for a long time, it can lead to many undesirable conditions such as depression, weight loss, insomnia, and fatigue. A 35-year-old male patient was admitted to our emergency department with hiccup lasting for 15 h. He had a history of several hiccup attacks. Classical non-pharmacological and pharmacological therapies were used to treat the condition without any response. As an alternative method, an intradermal injection was applied. A mixture of thiocolchicoside and lidocaine was administered intradermally to a depth of 1–3 mm at the epigastric region and adjacent to the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The patient's hiccup ended after the intradermal injection procedure. During 48 h of follow-up the hiccup attack did not develop again. No complications related to the process were detected. This is the first case in the literature demonstrating the use of intradermal injection to terminate hiccups. The intradermal injection approach can be administered in cases of hiccups that do not respond to medical treatment.