Olsufka William, Cabral Danielle, McArdle Megan, Kavanagh Rebecca
(Corresponding author) Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice Department, Touro College of Pharmacy, New York, New York; Psychiatry Clinical Pharmacist, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, New York, New York,
Student, Touro College of Pharmacy, New York, New York.
Ment Health Clin. 2018 Nov 1;8(6):309-312. doi: 10.9740/mhc.2018.11.309. eCollection 2018 Nov.
Drug-induced oral ulcers are lesions of the oral mucosa accompanied by painful symptoms, such as burning mouth, metallic taste, dysgeusia, or ageusia. This report demonstrates the first documented case of drug-induced oral ulcers with the tricyclic antidepressant nortriptyline. In this case, a 49-year-old female initiated treatment for refractory neuropathy with nortriptyline. Within 2 weeks of therapy, painful, oral, bubble-like ulcers developed. Complete symptom resolution occurred approximately 1 month after discontinuation of nortriptyline. Clinicians should be cognizant of nortriptyline's ability to potentially induce oral ulcers; however, the exact mechanism for this adverse event is unknown.
