Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Tetanus, from the greek tètanos (contracture), is an acute disease which affects the nervous system, potentially fatal, caused by an exotoxin produced by Clostridium tetani. Tetanus is characterized by a generalized rigidity and spasms of skeletal muscles. Rigidity involves in particular the mandible (also know as lockjaw) and the neck, and the becomes generalized. The decision to treat this topic comes from an internship experience in Intensive Care, where i had the opportunity to attend a patient suffering from tetanus during his hospital stay. The care planning with the taxonomy NANDA I, NOC and NIC is perfectly in line with the data reported in the literature. Specifically, it was possible to formulate nursing diagnoses to select targeted interventions with the aim of achieving health objectives for the patient.