[Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in a patient with tetanus]

Autonomic nervous function was studied in a 57-year-old female patient with tetanus of mild degree, by recording muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) using the microneurographic method, as well as by measuring blood pressure, heart rate and plasma content of norepinephrine (NE). No apparent clinical signs of autonomic dysfunction were observed. Recording of MSNA on the 7th hospital day revealed decreased discharge rates compared with age-matched healthy subjects, indicating suppressed sympathetic nerve function. The decreased MSNA returned to closely normal level after 3 months, when the clinical symptoms and signs were almost completely cleared up. Previous studies have shown facilitated sympathetic nerve function, while some sympathetic nerves remain suppressed, and therefore unstable cardiovascular dysfunction might be elicited in tetanus.