Hospital-acquired intestinal toxemia botulism in a newly diagnosed adult colon cancer patient.

Hospital-acquired intestinal toxemia botulism in a newly diagnosed adult colon cancer patient. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2019 Sep 12;61:e49 Authors: Fonseca LJSD, Carvalho DC, Moraes HP, Feitosa IDF, Pereira Neto G, Vilela RV, Fernandes BFS, Gomez RS, Nobre V Abstract This manuscript reports a case of intestinal toxemia botulism in an adult with recently diagnosed metastatic colon cancer in whom botulism symptoms began 23 days after hospital admission. Representing the rarest form of botulism presentation in clinical practice, this infectious disease may have developed due to a cluster of predisposing factors that favored Clostridium botulinum colonization and the endogenous production of neurotoxins, among which are previous use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and colon changes related to the development of the neoplasia. This case highlights the importance of considering intestinal toxemia botulism in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with symmetrical descending flaccid paralysis, since immediate treatment with botulinum antitoxin may improve clinical outcomes. PMID: 31531627 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo Source Type: research