Abstract
We report herein a case of tetanus. The patient was a 75-year-old man who was referred to our hospital because of difficulty in mouth opening. Physical examination revealed severe trismus. However, there was no sign of inflammation in the maxillofacial region. The clinical diagnosis was temporomandibular disorder. The next day, he visited the emergency department because of dysphagia. The patient was given a diagnosis of tetanus on the basis of the clinical course and symptoms such as rapidly progressive trismus and dysphagia. The patient was admitted to our hospital and given tetanus antitoxin, antitetanic human immunoglobulin and antibiotics. He was discharged on the 13th hospital day. Although tetanus has become rare in recent years in Japan, it is a fatal disease if early treatment is not appropriately performed. When examining patients with trismus, we should consider the possibility of tetanus and observe them carefully.
