A woman from Foshan in Guangdong was unfortunately pecked by a chicken last November, but little did she know she would face a life-threatening ordeal, requiring nearly two months of intensive care unit (ICU) treatment before finally pulling through.
Mrs. Liu was unfortunately pecked on her right foot by a chicken in early November last year, initially thinking it was a minor incident. However, eight days later, she developed severe symptoms such as difficulty opening her mouth, stiff neck, and swallowing difficulties, prompting emergency hospitalization and treatment.
Due to frequent spasms, difficulty breathing, and decreased blood oxygen levels, Mrs. Liu was diagnosed with “severe tetanus.” Her condition was critical, requiring immediate admission to the hospital’s infection department intensive care unit.
During treatment, Mrs. Liu experienced various complications including recurrent seizures, hypoxic brain disease, lung infections, and difficulty defecating. It took two months of intensive care before Mrs. Liu finally recovered.
Through multiple adjustments to the treatment plan, including the use of tetanus antitoxin, passive immunization with human tetanus immunoglobulin, surgical debridement, anti-infection, and antispasmodic therapy, Mrs. Liu’s condition gradually came under control. On January 5th of this year, Mrs. Liu was discharged from the hospital.
Experts remind that tetanus is an acute, specific, and toxic disease caused by Clostridium tetani, characterized by continuous rigidity of the skeletal muscles throughout the body and episodic spasms.
Patients with severe tetanus can experience laryngospasm, suffocation, lung infections, and organ failure, with an extremely high mortality rate. Therefore, once trauma occurs, especially with contaminated and deeper wounds, prompt and proper wound care is necessary, including vaccination against tetanus if needed, for prevention.