Journal de toxicologie clinique
Libre accès

Abstrait

Botulism Beyond Radiologic Ileus

Mirna Krajina-Andričevic, Lada Zibar, Tomislav Kremer and Jadranka Korda

Botulism is a rare disease caused by Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin that irreversibly blocks releasing of acetylcholine on presynaptic cholinergic terminal of the autonomic nerves of the neuromuscular junction. Intoxication is most commonly reported in association with consumption of homemade canned or smoked products. Botulism is usually described as a potentially lethal disease, however, because the clinical presentation is dose-dependent, in some cases this disease can have a mild course and poorly defined symptoms. We present clinical findings of a 26 year old male patient who developed constipation, urine retention, blurred vision and weakness, after eating a homemade smoked ham. Our patient had mild form of botulism with no signs of respiratory distress and his treatment included only symptomatic measures. Laboratory diagnosis of botulism was obtained by the mouse bioassay (MBA) test which confirmed the presence of botulinum neurotoxin in the patient’s serum. The diagnosis of botulism is frequently missed or delayed in patients with mild clinical presentations because of the sporadic nature of cases and general unfamiliarity with the syndrome.