Piscitelli A, Cacciatore S, Ambrosio F, Ragozzino R, Pasquini FM, Incordino F, D’Angelo E, Gerardino L, Maggi L, Landi F. Clostridium tetani Infection in a Geriatric Patient: Do Not Let Your Guard Off!
Ann Geriatr Med Res 2023;
27:269-273. [PMID:
37482408 PMCID:
PMC10556716 DOI:
10.4235/agmr.23.0067]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Tetanus is an infectious disease caused by Clostridium tetani toxin. Although easily preventable through vaccination, over 73,000 new infections and 35,000 deaths due to tetanus occurred worldwide in 2019, with higher rates in countries with healthcare barriers. Here, we present a clinical case of C. tetani infection in an 85-year-old patient. Patient robustness and high functional reserve before infection are favorable predictors of survival for an otherwise fatal disease. However, the patient did not experience any severe complications. Therefore, this report is a strong call for tetanus vaccination.
Collapse