Abstract
An 82-year-old woman with slight dementia suffered a 3rd-degree flame burn on her left foot and was left untreated for 3 days. After being hospitalized in a clinic of internal medicine on day 4 post-burn, she was treated with antibiotics along with the application of some disinfectants. She was late hospitalized on day 7 post-burn at the Department of Dermatology, Miyazaki Medical College, with nonclostridial gas gangrene. No underlying diseases such as diabetes were found. On day 14 post-burn, the amputation of the left leg below the knee was undertaken. Tetanus developed on day 3 post-surgery (on day 17 post-burn). Convulsions could be controlled with daily doses of 40 mg of diazepam, divided into 8 doses, through the gastric tube. It took about 3 months for her to recover from muscle rigidity, and she was discharged 5 months post-burn.
