A life-threatening case of stenosing pill hypopharynx-oesophagitis caused by a tamsulosin capsule.

Pill oesophagitis is a frequent clinical entity that may induce dysphagia and exceptionally oesophageal occlusion. The mechanisms inducing mucosal inflammation are not completely defined, but oesophageal damage occurring when the caustic content of a drug remains in the oesophagus long enough to produce mucosal lesions seems to be a main factor. We report a case of a life-threatening stenosing pill hypopharynx-oesophagitis caused by the ingestion of a capsule of tamsulosin, a drug diffusely used for benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment.