In some regions of the world, tetanus neonatorum is known as "seventh day evil" [1], because this is when symptoms first set in. In underdeveloped countries, this is the cause of up to half of neonatal deaths, while infection of all types represents the reason for 15% of newborn deaths worldwide [2]. Newborns develop the generalized form of the disease because exposure is made via the umbilical stump, when asepsis is not achieved. Other infectious agents leading to sepsis can also be transmitted to the child in this manner [3]. In some areas, the umbilical stump is covered with dust or spider webs, that are thought to promote healing, but actually contain Clostridium tetani. Proper umbilical cord handling [4] and population vaccination may help reduce tetanus neonatorum .

The incubation period for tetanus neonatorum is 3 to 10 days, but most newborns develop it at the end of their first week of life, when they present with irritability, feeding difficulties due to trismus and an inability to swallow, excessive crying caused by hunger, rigidity and generalized muscle spasms induced by touch, including those of the face, and opisthotonus. Patients exhibit tachycardia and tachypnea, are febrile and may have convulsions. The sooner generalized spasms occur, the worse the prognosis, with mortality usually higher than 70% [5] [6] [7]. During spasms, the child may be cyanotic. Death is caused by hemodynamic instability as a consequence of dysautonomia or heart arrhythmias, hydro-electrolytic imbalance or asphyxia.

• Fever

  الصفحة 99 - An extremely infectious disease with a sudden onset, fever, malaise, headache, severe backache, prostration and occasionally abdominal pain. [books.google.com]

  Seite 99 - An extremely infectious disease with a sudden onset, fever, malaise, headache, severe backache, prostration and occasionally abdominal pain. [books.google.de]

  My thanks are due to the staff of the Baghdad Fever Hospital for permission to use their records. [kundoc.com]

  Short incubation period, short period of onset, low birth weight, presence of fever and tachycardia were associated with a poor prognosis. The cases were divided into 2 groups of 46 and 30. First group was given TIG while second group was given ATS. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Other signs are fever, elevated blood pressure, sweating and rapid heart rate. Diagnosis and Treatment. Tetanus is a clinical diagnosis. [pchrd.dost.gov.ph]

• Abdominal Rigidity

  A common first sign suggestive of tetanus in older children and adults is abdominal rigidity, although rigidity is sometimes confined to the region of injury. Generalized spasms occur, frequently induced by sensory stimuli. [cdc.gov]

  He developed tetanic generalized spasms with opisthotonos, risus sardonicus and abdominal rigidity. The patient was transferred to the PICU where he was placed on a continuous infusion of midazolam at 0.1 mg/kg/hr. [pedsccm.org]

• Tachycardia

  Short incubation period, short period of onset, low birth weight, presence of fever and tachycardia were associated with a poor prognosis. The cases were divided into 2 groups of 46 and 30. First group was given TIG while second group was given ATS. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Patients exhibit tachycardia and tachypnea, are febrile and may have convulsions. The sooner generalized spasms occur, the worse the prognosis, with mortality usually higher than 70%. During spasms, the child may be cyanotic. [symptoma.com]

  Tachycardia. High frequency and greater severity and duration of muscular spasms especially of larynx. Frequent and prolong duration of apneic episodes. [jemds.com]

  Beta-blockade is used to control episodes of hypertension and tachycardia, but use of long-acting drugs such as propranolol is not recommended. [msdmanuals.com]

• Trismus

  Tetanus Neonatorum or neonatal tetanus is also known in Western medicine by the terms trismus nascentium, 7-day sickness, 9-day fits and the lock-jaw of infants. In ancient Chinese medicine it was called infant cord body stiffness. [nature.com]

  Trismus, tonic contraction of jaw muscles, is usually absent. tetanic 1. Relating to tetanus or to the sustained contraction of the muscles that is characteristic of tetanus. 2. [wordinfo.info]

  The incubation period for tetanus neonatorum is 3 to 10 days, but most newborns develop it at the end of their first week of life, when they present with irritability, feeding difficulties due to trismus and an inability to swallow, excessive crying caused [symptoma.com]

  Omphalitis of newborn NOS tetanus A33 Tetanus, tetanic (cephalic) (convulsions) A35 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code A35 Other tetanus 2016 2017 2018 2019 Billable/Specific Code Type 1 Excludes obstetrical tetanus ( A34 ) tetanus neonatorum ( A33 ) neonatorum A33 Trismus [icd10data.com]

• Muscle Twitch

  twitches are fused and cannot be distinguished from one another; called also tetanic or tonic contraction and tetanic or tonic spasm. tet·a·nus ne·o·na·to·rum tetanus occurring in newborn infants, usually due to infection of umbilical area with Clostridium [medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com]

  […] of relaxation caused by repetitive stimulation of the motor nerve trunk at frequencies so high that individual muscle twitches are fused and cannot be distinguished from one another, also called tonic spasm and tetany). tetanus 1. [wordinfo.info]

• Muscle Spasticity

  Dantrolene Dantrolene is sometimes prescribed in cases of chronic (long-term) muscle spasticity (where your muscles are overly tight or rigid). [hse.ie]

  In localized tetanus, there is spasticity of muscles near the entry wound but no trismus; spasticity may persist for weeks. Cephalic tetanus is a form of localized tetanus that affects the cranial nerves. [msdmanuals.com]

• Facial Spasm

  “Risussardonicus” or “rigid smile” is characteristic in the facial spasms caused by tetanus in which the eyebrows are raised and there is a fixed smile. [pchrd.dost.gov.ph]

• Convulsions

  As for any patient subject to convulsions, maintenance of a safe environment is essential. Prevention of injury to and assessment of a patient with convulsive seizures are discussed under convulsion. [medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com]

  Patients exhibit tachycardia and tachypnea, are febrile and may have convulsions. The sooner generalized spasms occur, the worse the prognosis, with mortality usually higher than 70%. During spasms, the child may be cyanotic. [symptoma.com]

  Babies born with tetanus may take three to 14 days to exhibit symptoms, after which irritability, failure to feed properly, convulsions and ultimately death by suffocation await for 70 percent of infected newborns. [web.archive.org]

• Seizure

  Diagnosis had to be differentiated between MSUD and other metabolic disorders and neonatal infections (especially neonatal tetanus because of severe opisthotonos) and generalized seizures of the patient. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Tetanus was frequently confused with neonatal seizures at time of presentation. All infants were delivered at home. Mean age of onset of symptoms of poor suck, hypertonicity, and generalized spasms was 5.4 days with hospital admission at 6.4 days. [pediatrics.aappublications.org]

  As long as the patient is acutely ill and likely to suffer from convulsive seizures, someone should be in constant attendance. [medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com]

• Opisthotonus

  Related Concepts SNOMET-CT Tetanus neonatorum (disorder) Tetanic opisthotonus (disorder) Age at onset of clinical finding (observable entity) < 29.0 days ICD-10-CM Alphabetical Index References for 'A33 - Tetanus neonatorum' The ICD-10-CM Alphabetical [icd.codes]

  […] their first week of life, when they present with irritability, feeding difficulties due to trismus and an inability to swallow, excessive crying caused by hunger, rigidity and generalized muscle spasms induced by touch, including those of the face, and opisthotonus [symptoma.com]

  Clinical feaClinical fea tures of neonataltures of neonataltetanustetanus Abdominal muscles become rigid andAbdominal muscles become rigid andspasms of the muscles of the back mayspasms of the muscles of the back mayresult in opisthotonus.result in opisthotonus [slideshare.net]

  LXXI NO. 12 On examination the baby is found to have trismus, and, if in a more advanced stage of disease, may have developed generalised rigidity with opisthotonus. [kundoc.com]

• Neonatal Seizures

  Abstract Five infants with neonatal tetanus were managed with neuromuscular blockade and positive pressure ventilation. All survived. Tetanus was frequently confused with neonatal seizures at time of presentation. All infants were delivered at home. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Tetanus neonatorum diagnosis is mainly clinical. Careful history inquiry should include metoclopramide administration. The clinician should search for meningeal signs [8] and labor related cerebral injury. Once the suspicion is raised, the physician is required to perform a spatula test. This consists of trying to elicit a gag reflex by touching the oropharynx with a spatula. In tetanus newborns, this reflex is replaced by masseter muscles spasm, leading them to byte the spatula. This maneuver is highly specific [9] and is sometimes involuntarily performed by mothers while attempting to feed the baby. The next step in the clinical evaluation is to assess the severity of the disease, based on the state of the limbs: flexed or extended and the presence of generalized rigidity.

Laboratory workup offers little information, because no specific diagnosis test is available. Serum muscle enzyme levels are increased due to the muscle spasms. The calcium blood level should be measured in order to exclude hypocalcemia, which is an important differential diagnosis. If an antitoxin level test is feasible, a titer of more than 0.01 IU/mL is considered to be protective. Umbilical stump secretion can be cultured and the bacteria may be found there, but this does not necessarily mean the patient has tetanus. On the other hand, in a patient with clear clinical signs of tetanus, the pathogen may be absent from the secretion. Blood cultures are not useful in this disease.

The electrocardiogram may show nonspecific changes or several types of arrhythmia, while the electromyogram describes continuous discharge of motor subunits, the substrate of spasms and rigidity.

In a retrospective appraisal of treatment, it would seem that antitoxin serum has not been specific in the treatment of tetanus or in a decrease of the mortality rate; whereas heretofore, neglected supportive treatment was the primary factor contributing [pediatrics.aappublications.org]

[…] where the umbilical cord was not treated ( n = 147) as compared to births with cord treatment ( n = 69). [webmedcentral.com]

& Scrag 1 Affiliations : 1 King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban Source : South African Medical Journal, Volume 29, Issue 37, Sep 1955, p. 853 - 854 Keyword(s) : Case report, Modified treatment, Tetanus neonatorum and Treatment Accreditation : Department [journals.co.za]

Early diagnosis of the MSUD patient is very important for effective therapy and better long-term prognosis as well as genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis for future pregnancies. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Joag, Grading of Tetanus to Evaluate Prognosis, Indian J. Med. Sci. 13, 884 (1959). Google Scholar [13] M. Rey and I. Diop Mar, Tetanus in Dakar. Therapeutic Considerations. Principles on Tetanus, p. 501–511. Google Scholar [14] M. J. [link.springer.com]

The sooner generalized spasms occur, the worse the prognosis, with mortality usually higher than 70%. During spasms, the child may be cyanotic. [symptoma.com]

Certain conditions have both an underlying etiology and multiple body system manifestations due to the underlying etiology. [icd10coded.com]

The etiology and mechanism tetanus neonatorum was the subject of debate and uncertainty throughout more than 2,000 years of recorded Western medicine. [nature.com]

Etiology of TetanusEtiology of Tetanus Tetanus occurs after introduced sporesTetanus occurs after introduced sporesgerminate, multiply, and produce tetanusgerminate, multiply, and produce tetanustoxin at the infected injury site.toxin at the infected [slideshare.net]

Descriptive Epidemiology 587 Mechanisms and Routes of Transmission 7 Pathogenesis and Immunity 590 Patterns of Host Response 591 Control and Prevention 592 References 593 Suggested Reading 595 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Theodore E Woodward and J Stephen [books.google.com]

Denchev, Epidemiological Peculiarities of Tetanus in Bulgaria, works of the Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology 8, 73–82 (1962). Google Scholar [20] K. W. Newell, Tetanus Neonatorum. Epidemiology and Prevention. [link.springer.com]

International Journal of Epidemiology. 39 (Suppl 1): i102–9. doi : 10.1093/ije/dyq027. PMC 2845866. PMID 20348112. External links [ edit ] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tetanus. [en.wikipedia.org]

Pathophysiology Clostridium tetani is an obligate, anaerobic, motile, gram-positive bacillus. It is nonencapsulated and forms spores that are resistant to heat, desiccation, and disinfectants. [emedicine.medscape.com]

Tetanus: pathophysiology, management and prophylaxis. Disease-a-Month 1991;37:549-602. 2. Centers for Disease Control Tetanus - United States, 1987 and 1988. JAMA 1990;263:1192. 3. Prevots R, Sutter RW, Strebel PM, et al. [pedsccm.org]

The concept of prevention of the disease by proper handling of the cord was not even suggested. [nature.com]

Descriptive Epidemiology 587 Mechanisms and Routes of Transmission 7 Pathogenesis and Immunity 590 Patterns of Host Response 591 Control and Prevention 592 References 593 Suggested Reading 595 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Theodore E Woodward and J Stephen [books.google.com]

Immediate and proper wound care can prevent tetanus infection. [icdlist.com]

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