Generalized tetanus in a patient with a diabetic foot infection

Tetanus is a preventable disease that continues to affect people in the United States due to poor immunization practices in our health care system. A 57-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and end-stage renal disease with many hospital admissions came to the hospital emergency department because of a blackened great toe. He denied pain in the toe or knowledge of foot injury. The patient also complained of temporomandibular tenderness accompanied by inability to open his mouth completely. The man's problems progressed to generalized tetanus and required a long hospitalization. Clostridium tetani can flourish in the anaerobic environment of a diabetic foot infection. Practitioners should be aware of tetanus as a rare but potentially serious complication of diabetic foot infections.