Hyo Yukiyoshi, Fukutsuji Kenji, Fukushima Hisaki, Harada Tamotsu
Department of Otolaryngology, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama 701-0192, Japan.
Department of Otolaryngology, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama 701-0192, Japan.
Auris Nasus Larynx. 2017 Oct;44(5):620-623. doi: 10.1016/j.anl.2016.09.006. Epub 2016 Oct 7.
Cases of thermal burns of the larynx in infants and in patients with mental illness have been reported, but those in older people are rare. We report two cases of thermal burns of the larynx in older people caused by ingestion of microwave-heated food (meat and potato stew or a bean-jam filled bun). Both patients were users of full dentures. Conservative therapy was effective in one patient, while tracheotomy was performed in the other patient at the time of the initial examination. Hot food is expelled from the mouth as a reflective response, preventing thermal burns of the larynx. However, in older individuals, sense perception is impaired and reflexes are slowed. Further, the oral mucosa is protected if full dentures are placed. Therefore, heat is likely to not be perceived and reflexes occur only after the food has reached the larynx, thereby causing thermal burns of the larynx. The number of such cases may increase as the number of older patients rises in the current aging society. Therefore, raising awareness of such cases is important.
婴儿和精神病患者发生喉部热烧伤的病例已有报道，但老年人发生此类情况较为罕见。我们报告两例老年人因摄入微波加热食物（炖肉和土豆或豆沙包）导致喉部热烧伤的病例。两名患者均佩戴全口假牙。保守治疗对其中一名患者有效，而另一名患者在初次检查时即进行了气管切开术。热的食物会作为一种反射反应从口中吐出，从而防止喉部热烧伤。然而，老年人的感觉知觉受损且反射减慢。此外，如果佩戴全口假牙，口腔黏膜会得到保护。因此，热量可能无法被感知，且只有在食物到达喉部后才会出现反射，从而导致喉部热烧伤。在当前老龄化社会中，随着老年患者数量的增加，此类病例的数量可能会上升。因此，提高对此类病例的认识很重要。
