Acute unintentional intoxication with paraffin in a 25-year old patient – Clinical case report

“Fire-breathing” or “fire-eating” is a special kind of street art where the acts are always stunning, spectacular and amazing. People exhibiting this kind of show are professionals, not rare amateurs, who use different kind of fuels, usually hydrocarbons, in order to produce a pillar of fire. Intoxications caused by ingestion or inhalation of liquid paraffin, used as a fuel while performing, are numerous and various. We present a clinical case report of a 25-year old, previously healthy, amateur “fire-breather”. During October, 2010 this young men arrived at the Emergency Unit of the University Clinic for toxicology and Urgent Internal Medicine in a severe clinical condition, after his unsuccessful attempt to perform real “fire-breathing”. He had fever, strong headaches, mild abdominal and chest pain and he also had difficulties breathing and persistent dry cough. The patient was extremely dyspneic with peripheral cyanosis and shortness of breath.“Fire-breathers” must be viewed as a population at risk of paraffin-induced pneumonia, which has low mortality rate, but still is related with numerous and various chronic complications. Our patient was first in a life threatening, extremely serious clinical condition which was urgently treated with appropriate vigorous and effective therapy. This therapeutic protocol led to successful full recovery of these young men, who luckily didn't exhibit any chronic complications.