Two Cases of Alocasia Intoxication

Wi, Dae Han

Abstract

Alocasia was originally distributed throughout subtropical and tropical areas. Recently, in Korea, it has been used in air cleaners and in control of humidity. Despite easy access in Korea, there are few reports on Alocasia toxicity. We report on two cases of Alocasia intoxication. One patient was a 16-month-old male, who was admitted with a complaint of irritability after biting leaves of Alocasia. Four hours later, he was discharged without any symptoms. Another patient, a 52-year-old female, complained of oral pain, numbness on the perioral area, dysphonia, swallowing difficulty, and chest and abdominal pain after eating root stuck of alocasia odora. She underwent gastrointestinal fibroscopy (GIF) due to lasting chest and abdominal pain. Finding on GIF showed erythema and swelling in the aryepiglottic fold and larynx. Her symptoms lasted 13 days; she was then discharged without any complications or sequelae.