Tetanus with Low back and Knee Pain, Abdominal Distension and Constipation as Initial Presentations: Report of a Deaf and Mute Case and Literature Review

• Published in: Zhongguo quanke yixue Vol. 26; no. 24; pp. 3074 - 3078
• Main Author: BAO Yiru, BAO Shouqian, ZHANG Zhaohui, ZHANG Yinchuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: Chinese General Practice Publishing House Co., Ltd 01.08.2023
• Subjects: tetanus|deafness|tetanus antitoxin|intervertebral disc displacement|osteoarthritis, knee|case reports
• ISSN: 1007-9572
• DOI: 10.12114/j.issn.1007-9572.2022.0551

Tetanus is a life-threatening and fatal disease that can be prevented by vaccination. The diagnosis of tetanus is based solely on medical history and clinical symptoms and is very prone to misdiagnosis, undertreatment, and delayed treatment. We reported a deaf and mute patient with tetanus with low back pain, bilateral knee pain, and abdominal distension and constipation as the first symptoms. The patient visited the department of orthopedic pain management with low back pain, bilateral knee pain and abdominal distension and constipation as the chief complaint. During treatment, he was found to have symptoms such as fatigue, coughing with yellow sputum, neck stiffness and discomfort, bilateral temporomandibular joint pain and difficulty in opening the mouth gradually developed after a history of contaminated wound trauma, and thoracic muscle spasm, abdominal muscle tension and neck muscle spasm detected by physical examination, then he was diagnosed with tetanus and transferred to the neuro-ICU department for