[Clinical features of tetanus: a review with case reports]

Tetanus is a CNS disorder characterized by muscle spasms that is caused by the exotoxin of an anaerobic bacterium, Clostridium tetani. This disease is killing tens of thousands of neonates in developing countries. Although the incidence and mortality of tetanus has dramatically dropped in developed countries due to effective vaccination, appropriate wound management, and recent advances in intensive care, treatments remain difficult. From among developed countries, Japan has had a relatively high incidence of tetanus, and prevention is the problem especially in the elderly. We analyzed the data from 12 patients admitted to our hospital during 1997-2010. Their age ranged from 50-82 years; median 72 years with male to female ratio 5: 7, and all patients lacked a reliable history of toxoid immunization. Five patients out of 12 had history of cancer and one each had diabetes mellitus, pulmonary emphysema and Sjogren syndrome. In some cases, the patients had been initially misdiagnosed with ENT disorders, dental problems, or psychosis. Therefore to date, observation of clinical symptoms such as difficulty in mouth opening is considered the most crucial for diagnosis. The shorter was a period from onset to generalized convulsion (onset time), the longer was a duration of hospital stay. A notable complication was intramuscular hemorrhage in the lumbar muscles, which occurred in 2 patients. No patients died due to ICU managements, in which the most useful were propofol for spasm control and sedation, and magnesium sulfate for autonomic overactivity. Retrospectively, the Tetanus Severity Score (TSS) for mortality proposed by Thwaites et al (2006) is considered a useful tool also for predicting the clinical outcome at discharge. Although tetanus has been traditionally classified into the generalized, local, and cephalic types, a simpler severity-based classification into "severe", "moderate", and "mild" types may be more practical with regard to disease management.