Oral self-injury associated with septicaemia in a case of Cornelia de Lange syndrome

Self-injury (SI) can be defined as deliberate harm to one’s own body without conscious suicidal intent. This report describes a case of septicaemia triggered by SI. The patient was a 40 year-old woman, who was diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS). She was hospitalized in a medical long-term care sanatorium and was recently transferred from a familiar sanatorium. She started to bite herself on the mandibular labial alveolar mucosa; this had never been observed. As the self-biting wound gradually increased and the resultant inflammation spread to surrounding tissues, she was referred to our hospital. During the course of treatment, she suffered from septicaemia secondary to aspiration pneumonia. When a case of SI is encountered, clinicians should be aware of the possibility of progression from local infected foci, such as a self-biting wound to septicaemia, and make appropriate interventions at an early stage without underestimating the seriousness of such a condition.