A 66-year-old man sustained an injury to his right foot while gardening. Despite receiving tetanus toxoid one hour later and adequate wound toilet, he developed severe tetanus complicated with autonomic dysfunction six days later. He died 20 days after admission. This case shows that tetanus toxoid alone may not be sufficient to prevent tetanus in wounded patients. Careful consideration must be...

Current UK policy on immunisation for tetanus has changed in the light of evidence that five doses of vaccine probably provides sufficient protection as long as high-risk wounds are managed with tetanus immunoglobulin. This paper reviews the evidence base for tetanus immunisation policy in England and Wales: the epidemiology of tetanus, vaccination coverage and response to tetanus toxoid, and p...

of the clinical presentation of the disease. The diagnosis can be suspected but not confirmed in the emergency depart­ ment (ED). In addition to recognizing the clinical presentation of tetanus, EPs play a vital role in the prevention of the disease. Primary pediatric vaccination and regular decennial booster vaccination are the mainstays of disease prevention and sever­ ity modulation. Herd im...

Tetanus is a bacterial infection caused by Clostridium tetani and most commonly presents as trismus or other muscle spasms. Despite the development of the tetanus toxoid vaccine, tetanus infection has not been eradicated. Additionally, while there are hypothesized protective levels of tetanus antibody, tetanus infection may still occur in properly vaccinated individuals. We report the case of a...

introduction: knowledge of emergency medicine residents about the management of patients suspected of having tetanus favoring wounds is very important due to their responsibility for the treatment of such patients. the aim of the present study was to evaluate this knowledge and making sure of the adequacy of instructions they have received in relation to prevention of tetanus.  methods: a relia...

Although tetanus is now rare, vaccination is currently recommended for the entire population. Most elderly North Americans have never received tetanus vaccination. We evaluated the expected cost-effectiveness of using mailed reminders from family physicians to increase primary tetanus vaccination coverage among elderly Canadians. We estimated that over 10 years the program would prevent five ca...

The incidence of tetanus declined dramatically in the 20th century owing to routine vaccination and prompt attention to wound care. Postsurgical tetanus is uncommon, with both exogenous and endogenous sources being responsible for disease. The majority of cases of postoperative tetanus have been observed after intra-abdominal surgery. Those at high risk for developing tetanus include immigrants...

Public Health England undertakes surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases including enhanced surveillance of clinically suspected tetanus. In the United Kingdom, tetanus has become increasingly rare due to the success of the national routine immunization program. Consequently, few practitioners have experience of diagnosing and managing patients with clinical tetanus. We report two cases of...

Background: The predisposing and prognostic factors for neonatal tetanus (NNT) have not been adequately studied in southernIran. Objective: The present study was undertaken in Fars Province to further clarify the status of neonatal tetanus in this region. Methods: The mortality rate was correlated with demographic and clinical findings in 112 cases of neonatal tetanus.  In addition, the height ...