Management of teeth extraction in a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome

• Published in: Journal of Japanese Society of Dentistry for Medically Compromised Patient Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 3 - 8
• Main Authors: Tajiri, Yasuki, Tsukamoto, Yoshitaka, Suzuki, Shinya, Kamiya, Yuji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society of Dentistry for Medically Compromised Patient 30.04.2007
• Subjects: case report; chronic fatigue syndrome; tooth extraction
• ISSN: 0918-8150; 1884-667X
• DOI: 10.11255/jjmcp1992.16.3

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition in which a seemingly healthy person suffers from sudden and severe general malaise and / or persistent low grade fever, severe malaise, exhaustion, headache, impaired cognitive function, and psychoneurotic disorder. This condition makes the patient to be unable to function properly in society. We herein report on the management for teeth extraction in a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome. The patient was a 16-year-old female patient who presented with the major complaint of pain in the left mandibular molar region. Her oral hygiene was very poor, and she had many dental caries. Gingival swelling was identified in the left mandibular 2nd molar region and she was diagnosed with an alveolar abscess originating from chronic apical periodontitis. After debriment and treatment of the abscess, a treatment plan was made for the infected alveolar root canal. However, the patient did not appear for her outpatient treatments owing to her general malaise. We therefore abandoned the conservative procedure with multiple treatments and extracted the tooth with the patient as an in-patient. The general malaise associated with chronic fatigue syndrome makes it extremely difficult for these patients to visit the hospital and to keep their appointments, as a result the treatment period is limited. In establishing a treatment plan, it is advisable to minimize the number of appointments for these patients to return to the hospital for appointments. In cases when the stress on the patient is predicted to be large, it may be necessary to perform these treatments with the patient as an in-patient.