Isolated Oral and Esophageal Mucosal Injury as a Rare Oxcarbazepine Adverse Drug Reaction: A Case Report.
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
- 2Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, USA.
- 3Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
- 4Division of Digestive Disease and Nutrition, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
- 5Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, Joy McCann Culverhouse Center for Swallowing Disorders, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
Abstract
Drug-induced mucosal injury may result from direct contact toxicity or immune-mediated adverse drug reactions. Although oxcarbazepine is a recognized etiology of severe hypersensitivity reactions, isolated oroesophageal mucosal injury without cutaneous or systemic involvement has not been previously described. We report a 68-year-old woman who developed severe diffuse esophagitis with concomitant oral mucosal ulceration approximately two weeks after oxcarbazepine initiation, with symptom onset within 24 hours of dose escalation from 150 to 300 mg twice daily. Histologic evaluation demonstrated predominantly lymphocytic esophageal inflammation with no evidence of infectious, eosinophilic, or immunobullous disease. The patient had no rash, peripheral eosinophilia, or systemic organ involvement. A Naranjo score of 7 supported a probable adverse drug reaction. Treatment consisted of discontinuation of oxcarbazepine alone, without the need for immunosuppressive or additional pharmacologic therapy. At five-month follow-up, the patient achieved endoscopic and histologic resolution. This case expands upon the recognized spectrum of oxcarbazepine-associated adverse drug reactions and emphasizes the importance of medication review in patients presenting with diffuse esophagitis and oral mucositis.
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BibTeX
@article{jesusgonzalez2026isolated,
title = {{Isolated Oral and Esophageal Mucosal Injury as a Rare Oxcarbazepine Adverse Drug Reaction: A Case Report.}},
author = {Joselyn De Jesus-Gonzalez and Quinten P Federico and Patrick Malafronte and Anne Champeaux and Shreya Narayanan and John Jacobs},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.117018},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948823},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Isolated Oral and Esophageal Mucosal Injury as a Rare Oxcarbazepine Adverse Drug Reaction: A Case Report.
AU - Joselyn De Jesus-Gonzalez
AU - Quinten P Federico
AU - Patrick Malafronte
AU - Anne Champeaux
AU - Shreya Narayanan
AU - John Jacobs
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/27
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.117018
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948823
AB - Drug-induced mucosal injury may result from direct contact toxicity or immune-mediated adverse drug reactions. Although oxcarbazepine is a recognized etiology of severe hypersensitivity reactions, isolated oroesophageal mucosal injury without cutaneous or systemic involvement has not been previously described. We report a 68-year-old woman who developed severe diffuse esophagitis with concomitant oral mucosal ulceration approximately two weeks after oxcarbazepine initiation, with symptom onset within 24 hours of dose escalation from 150 to 300 mg twice daily. Histologic evaluation demonstrated predominantly lymphocytic esophageal inflammation with no evidence of infectious, eosinophilic, or immunobullous disease. The patient had no rash, peripheral eosinophilia, or systemic organ involvement. A Naranjo score of 7 supported a probable adverse drug reaction. Treatment consisted of discontinuation of oxcarbazepine alone, without the need for immunosuppressive or additional pharmacologic therapy. At five-month follow-up, the patient achieved endoscopic and histologic resolution. This case expands upon the recognized spectrum of oxcarbazepine-associated adverse drug reactions and emphasizes the importance of medication review in patients presenting with diffuse esophagitis and oral mucositis.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -