The management of tetanus in adults in an intensive care unit in Southern Vietnam.

Tetanus remains common in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) yet the evidence base guiding management of this disease is extremely limited, particularly with respect to contemporary management options. Sharing knowledge about practice may facilitate improvement in outcomes elsewhere. : We describe clinical interventions and outcomes of 180 adult patients ≥16 years-old with tetanus enrolled in prospective observational studies at a specialist infectious diseases hospital in Southern Vietnam.

Risk factors associated with mechanical ventilation, autonomic nervous dysfunction and physical outcome in Vietnamese adults with tetanus.

Background: Tetanus remains common in many low- and middle-income countries, but as critical care services improve, mortality from tetanus is improving. Nevertheless, patients develop severe syndromes associated with autonomic nervous system disturbance (ANSD) and the requirement for mechanical ventilation (MV). Understanding factors associated with worse outcome in such settings is important to direct interventions.

Functional outcome and muscle wasting in adults with tetanus.

Background: In many countries, in-hospital survival from tetanus is increasing, but long-term outcome is unknown. In high-income settings, critical illness is associated with muscle wasting and poor functional outcome, but there are few data from resource-limited settings. In this study we aimed to assess muscle wasting and long-term functional outcome in adults with tetanus.