The Elephant in the Room: Clinical Progression and Management of Elephant Ear Plant Toxicity in an Adult

TL;DR

This paper discusses a case of an adult who intentionally ingested parts of an elephant ear plant and was successfully treated with conservative methods.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel clinical case of intentional elephant ear plant ingestion and its conservative management.

Findings

Ingestion of elephant ear plant parts caused localized inflammation and symptoms like irritation and edema.

Conservative management was effective in treating the toxicity without requiring invasive interventions.

Diagnostic studies confirmed the clinical manifestations linked to calcium oxalate crystal ingestion.

Abstract

Elephant ear plants are popular ornamental plants renowned for their large foliage. These plants have been implicated in various inadvertent and deliberate ingestions. The leaves and roots of these plants contain raphides, which are needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals. Ingestion of these crystals results in a localized inflammatory response, typically manifesting as irritation, edema, hypersalivation, and dysphagia. Herein, we describe a case of an older gentleman who presented to our institution following intentional ingestion of the leaves and roots of an elephant ear plant. This report describes the clinical manifestations secondary to the toxicities related to the ingestion of this plant and displays the successful conservative management approach employed following multiple diagnostic studies.

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