Hahn Barry J, Erogul Mert, Sinert Richard
Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York-Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York 11203, USA.
J Emerg Med. 2004 Oct;27(3):257-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2004.03.015.
We report the case of a 58-year-old man born in the United States with a history of complete childhood immunizations who presented to the Emergency Department with trismus. Past medical history was significant only for Elephantiasis. After an exhaustive workup the patient was found to have Tetanus, with no identifiable portal of entry. The patient was successfully treated for Tetanus with complete recovery. Tetanus is caused by the organism Clostridium Tetani, which usually requires an open lesion to cause infection. Our patient was unique in that he was previously immunized with no obvious lesion. Tetanus should be suspected and treated empirically in any patient presenting with typical signs and symptoms even without an apparent entry site.
我们报告了一例58岁出生于美国的男性病例,该患者儿童时期免疫接种史完整,因牙关紧闭就诊于急诊科。既往病史仅显著提及象皮病。经过全面检查,发现该患者患有破伤风,且未发现明确的感染入口。患者经破伤风治疗后成功康复。破伤风由破伤风梭菌引起,通常需要开放性伤口才能导致感染。我们的患者很独特,因为他之前接种过疫苗且没有明显伤口。对于任何出现典型症状和体征的患者,即使没有明显的感染入口,也应怀疑并经验性治疗破伤风。