Traditional treatment of 194 cases of tetanus

✍ Scribed by Anthony Busuttil; John B. Pace; Joseph A. Muscat

• Book ID: 101736141
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1974
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 411 KB
• Volume: 61
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0007-1323
• DOI: 10.1002/bjs.1800610915

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A retrospective survey of tetanus was undertaken for the decade 1957–66 in the Maltese islands. The 194 cases of tetanus reported were treated solely along the conservative lines of sedation, antitoxin and antibiotics. The mortality rate of 22 per cent for the whole series compares favourably with that from other centres. Intermittent positive pressure respiration and complete muscular relaxation are essential in order to decrease further the mortality from severe tetanus, although traditional treatment is still deemed to be very valuable in the milder forms of the disease.