Hospital-acquired intestinal toxemia botulism in a newly diagnosed adult colon cancer patient

• Autor(a) principal: Fonseca, Lucas José Sá da
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Carvalho, Diogo Couto de, Moraes, Helena Providelli de, Feitosa, Izabela Dayany França, Pereira Neto, Gil, Vilela, Rodrigo Vasconcellos, Fernandes, Breno Franco Silveira, Gomez, Rodrigo Santiago, Nobre, Vandack
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rimtsp/article/view/162236
• topic: Adult intestinal toxemia botulism; Neuropathy; Intestinal colonization; Diagnosis; Neuromuscular junction; Symmetrical descending flaccid paralysis; Clostridium botulinum

This manuscript reports a case of intestinal toxemia botulism in an adult with recently diagnosed metastatic colon cancer in whom botulism symptoms began 23 days after hospital admission. Representing the rarest form of botulism presentation in clinical practice, this infectious disease may have developed due to a cluster of predisposing factors that favored Clostridium botulinum colonization and the endogenous production of neurotoxins, among which are previous use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and colon changes related to the development of the neoplasia. This case highlights the importance of considering intestinal toxemia botulism in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with symmetrical descending flaccid paralysis, since immediate treatment with botulinum antitoxin may improve clinical outcomes.