We herein report a case of septic shock due to a dental infection resulting from a root canal procedure performed during a house call treatment. The patient was a 67-year-old male patient suffering from diabetes mellitus, liver cirrhosis, and chronic renal dysfunction. He presented at our emergency unit complaining of swelling and severe pain in the right cheek and neck regioms. He had undergone a root canal procedure during a house call visit by his family dentist. He developed a swelling and severe pain in the cheek at night on the day of treatment and experienced generalized fatigue. Based on these symptoms, diagnosis of acute periostitis of the mandible and acute suppurative inflammation of the cheek were established.
Although the patient received antibiotics and the abscess was drained, he went into septic shock the next day. We performed additional drainage of the lesion and administered systemic antibiotics. However, he did not regain consciousness and died 46 days after admission. The cause of death was renal dysfunction accompanied by increased uric acid concentration.
Dental treatment at home is becoming increasingly popular recently. However, careless surgical treatment may result in fatal infections and complications. Therefore, it is extremely important and necessary to pay special attention to the patient's past medical history as well as their present condition.
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