Almost lost his life because of a small scratch
About 1 week before being hospitalized, Ms. Phan Thi Thanh Ha was kicked in the right forehead by a chicken in the garden, creating a small scratch. Subjectively thinking that this was just a common skin injury, she self-disinfected at home.
However, the scratch began to swell and become pus, accompanied by a series of symptoms such as difficulty opening the mouth, jaw stiffness, right eyelid prolapse and peripheral paralysis. When the symptoms became increasingly severe, the family panicked and took the patient to Vinmec Ha Long Hospital for emergency treatment.
Doctors determined that this was not a common skin infection case. Based on the characteristic clinical signs, the patient was diagnosed with scaly tetanus - a rare type of tetanus, accounting for a very low proportion of cases but with a very severe prognosis.
BSCKI Do Van Manh, Head of the Emergency Resuscitation Department of Vinmec Ha Long, said that head tetanus usually starts after injuries appear in the head or face. When Clostridium tetani bacteria invade the skin, they quickly produce toxins, attacking directly the skull nervous system before spreading throughout the body.
In this form, tetanus toxin causes jaw stiffness, muscle stiffness in the head and face and paralysis of the cranial nerves (the most common is paralysis of the VII nerve, sometimes with ptosis). The disease can also lead to acute respiratory failure due to laryngeal spasms, stiffness of respiratory muscles and autonomic nervous system disorders, increasing the risk of death if not treated promptly," said Dr. Manh.
According to doctors, many people are often subjective about minor injuries, while tetanus bacteria exist everywhere, in soil, dust and animal feces. Any minor lesions encountering an anaerobic environment that is not properly cleaned becomes a "gateway" for bacteria to enter and produce toxins.
21 days of suffocation treatment
Recognizing that the patient was facing the brink of death due to the imminent risk of whole-body stiffness and respiratory failure, Vinmec Ha Long's team immediately activated the emergency multi-specialized consultation process. A comprehensive and strict treatment regimen was implemented during the "golden hour" to race against time to prevent toxins from spreading.
First, the patient was performed emergency tracheostomy to proactively control airways, preventing the risk of sudden death due to laryngeal spasms. At the same time, high-dose tetanus antitoxin serum (SAT) was injected into the patient's body to inactivate circulating toxins, combined with specific antibiotics to control the infection site in the forehead. At the same time, doctors used sedative therapy and combined muscle relaxation to suppress spasms, protect the patient's cardiovascular and respiratory systems from the destruction of neurotoxins.
After 21 days and nights of unremitting efforts by the medical team, the patient's condition improved significantly, and the spasms and convulsions were completely controlled. Ms. Ha gradually regained consciousness, had good contact and could eat and drink by mouth.
Specialist Doctor Do Van Manh shared that treating tetanus, especially head tetanus in elderly patients, is a long-term and stressful battle. This process requires close coordination of many specialties, not only stopping at removing toxins but also closely monitoring each vital sign, establishing a special nutrition regimen and applying early rehabilitation right at the hospital bed to minimize prolonged resuscitation complications.
From this case, doctors recommend that people should not be subjective about any open wounds, even very small lesions. For the elderly, people who do not remember vaccination history or have never been vaccinated against tetanus, proactive vaccination is even more important. Vaccination is an effective measure to prevent this dangerous disease.
The success of the case shows the ability to handle critical emergency situations at Vinmec Ha Long. Mastering in-depth resuscitation techniques, rhythmic multi-specialized coordination processes and sharp clinical thinking of the team of doctors help the hospital successfully treat severe and rare cases, bringing a second chance of survival for patients close to the brink of death.
To be consulted and examined at Vinmec Ha Long General Hospital, please contact to make an appointment through the Vinmec website at https://www.vinmec. com/vie/co-so-y-te/benh-vien-da-khoa-quoc-te-vinmec-ha-long or download the MyVinmec application.
