Acute camptocormia as the presenting symptom of tetanus

We report an unusual case of tetanus with camptocormia as the initial symptom. Case presentation A 77-year-old female farmer with unremarkable medical history arrived at our hospital due to difficulty in swallowing and a dropped head which were noticed 4 days prior to the visit. On examination at arrival, she had camptocormia with increased tonus of rectus abdominis muscle. She also had hoarseness in speech and mild limitation in opening her mouth. No wound was observed. Investigation On laryngoscopy, saliva was pooling around the epiglottis with decreased mobility. Therefore, she was admitted to the intensive care unit. Clinical course On the 4th day of admission, her trismus deteriorated rapidly. With a tentative diagnosis of tetanus, she was given tetanus...

Source: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry - July 9, 2014 Category: Neurosurgery Authors: Kaji, S., Shibayama, H., Sato, S., Fukutake, T. Tags: Immunology (including allergy), Muscle disease, Neuromuscular disease, Pain (neurology), Stroke, Ophthalmology, Radiology, Drugs: musculoskeletal and joint diseases, Musculoskeletal syndromes, Surgical diagnostic tests, Radiology (diagnostics), Ear, nose Source Type: research