Tetanus in a Non-Immunized Adult: Early Diagnosis and Successful Management - A Case Report
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55489/njmr.150320251124Keywords:
Adult tetanus, Lockjaw, Thorn prick, ImmunizationAbstract
Introduction Tetanus is an acute infectious disease of the nervous system caused by Clostridium tetani (C. tetani) characterized by muscle spasms that are caused by the toxin-producing spores of the anaerobic bacteria. These spores are ubiquitous in soil, ash, the intestinal tract of animals and humans, and on the surface of skin and rusty tools like nails, needles, and barbed wire, leading it to be a high-mortality disease. Clinical features of this disease include muscle spasms that begin in the jaw (lockjaw), painful muscle spasms, seizures, headache and fever.
Case report: This report describes a case of 19-year-old male with history of thorn prick presented to a tertiary care hospital in central India.
Conclusion: Ensuring timely and complete immunization is of paramount importance in preventing the occurrence of adult tetanus as it not only provides robust and long-lasting protection against Clostridium tetani but also reduces morbidity and mortality. It also reflects the gross lack of awareness of post-exposure prophylaxis against this deadly infection.
References
Paul V. Ghai Essential Pediatrics.9th edition. NEW DELHI: CBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt Ltd; 2019.
Meena M, Yadav V, Yadav MM, Joshi R, Singh P, Panda R, Saigal S. Adult tetanus is not gone yet, but could be ready to leave: A case-series from central India. Germs. 2023 Mar 31;13(1):86-89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2023.1371 PMid:38023953 PMCid:PMC10659751 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2023.1371
Sharma N, Li S, Sravanthi MV, Kazmierski D, Wang Y, Sharma A, Dhaubhadel P. Tetanus Complicated by Dysautonomia: A Case Report and Review of Management. Case Rep Crit Care. 2021 Mar 16;2021:8842522. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8842522 PMid:33815849 PMCid:PMC7987407 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8842522
Kulkarni PS, Raut SK, Dhorje SP, Barde PJ, Koli G, Jadhav SS. Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis immunity in Indian adults and immunogenicity of td vaccine. ISRN Microbiol. 2011 Dec 28;2011:745868. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5402/2011/745868 PMid:23724309 PMCid:PMC3658482 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5402/2011/745868
Gulamhussein MA, Li Y, Guha A. Localized Tetanus in an Adult Patient: Case Report. J Orthop Case Rep. 2016 Sep-Oct;6(4):100-102. PMID: 28164065; PMCID: PMC5288609
Kulkarni P. Adult Immunization in India: Time to Move from Negligence to a New Beginning. APIK Journal of Internal Medicine. 2021 Apr 1;9(2):68-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ajim.ajim_41_21 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ajim.ajim_41_21
Karnad DR, Gupta V. Intensive care management of severe tetanus. Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine: Peer-reviewed, Official Publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine. 2021 May;25(Suppl 2):S155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23829 PMid:34345131 PMCid:PMC8327798 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23829
Rodrigo C, Fernando D, Rajapakse S. Pharmacological management of tetanus: an evidence-based review. Crit Care. 2014 Mar 26;18(2):217. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/cc13797. PMID: 25029486; PMCID: PMC4057067. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/cc13797
Naz F, Petri WA. Host immunity and immunization strategies for Clostridioides difficile infection. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 2023 Jun 21;36(2): e 00157-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00157-22 PMid:37162338 PMCid:PMC10283484 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00157-22
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Monesh Verma, Gourav Patidar, Garima Namdev
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Author/s retain the copyright of their article, with first publication rights granted to Medsci Publications.
