Recurrent nonmenstrual toxic shock syndrome: clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment

Abstract

We report 3 cases of recurrent nonmenstrual toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and review the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment. The primary sites of infection were the genital tract (in a patient who underwent cesarean delivery), the upper respiratory tract, and a breast abscess. In all 3 patients, the initial illness was not recognized to be TSS; only after development of recurrent illness with desquamation was this diagnosis entertained. Strains of Staphylococcus aureus that were isolated from 2 patients produced TSS toxin-1, whereas the third strain produced staphylococcal enterotoxin B. All 3 patients lacked antibody to the implicated toxins at the time of presentation with recurrent illness. Nonmenstrual TSS can occur in a variety of clinical settings and may be recurrent. The presence of desquamation during a febrile, multisystem illness could suggest this diagnosis and should prompt the clinician to obtain appropriate cultures for S. aureus.