Pseudomembranous oral candidiasis resolved with a mouthwash containing 0.05% chlorhexidine + 0.05% cetylpyridinium...

A 50-year-old woman was referred to the clinic reporting oral discomfort during the previous month and plaques of a white removable slough. Diagnosis of pseudomembranous oral candidiasis was clinically confirmed. When the tongue and palatal mucosa were wiped with gauze, the soft yellowish-white slough detached revealing the erythematous surface beneath. The patient also presented paranoid schizophrenia and severe depression, pulmonary emphysema, and two vertebral hernias. She was a smoker (10 cigarettes per day) with xerostomia that was being treated with: bupropion, reboxetine, quetiapine, trazadone clotiapine, pregabalin, fentanyl (patches), and alprazolam. To minimize the risk of potential drug interactions, a mouthwash containing 0.05% chlorhexidine + 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride was prescribed three times a day for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, the candidiasis had abated.