Clinical Features of Foodborne and Wound Botulism: A Systematic Review of the Literature, 1932-2015

Botulism is a rare, potentially fatal paralytic illness caused by neurotoxins. To inform the evaluation of patients with suspected botulism, we conducted a systematic review to describe the clinical features of botulism.

We searched Medline Ovid, Embase Dialog, Embase Ovid, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) EBSCO, Global Health Ovid, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov for English language articles through May 2015. Information abstracted included demographics, signs and symptoms, laboratory results, and clinical outcome for foodborne and wound botulism patients confirmed by laboratory testing, epidemiologic link, or association with an outbreak. The review followed PRISMA guidelines and was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42015024784).

We identified 402 patients from 233 articles published in English between 1932 and 2015. Most cases (n = 346 [86%]) were foodborne botulism and most (n = 263 [65%]) were associated with an outbreak. The median incubation period was 1 day, and the median time from illness onset to hospital admission was 2 days. Shortness of breath, dyspnea, or respiratory distress or failure at hospital admission was reported in 169 (42%) patients; 71 (42%) reported respiratory involvement without report of extremity weakness. Among 154 patients for whom the hospital day of intubation was reported, 134 (87%) were intubated on the first or second hospital day.

Botulism patients can experience a range of signs and symptoms. Respiratory involvement may occur early in the illness and can occur without preceding extremity weakness. Clinicians and public health departments preparing for and responding to botulism events should use this information to guide the evaluation of suspected botulism patients.