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Case Reports
. 2023 Apr;51(2):489-495.
doi: 10.1007/s15010-022-01926-4. Epub 2022 Sep 30.

A case of fulminant respiratory diphtheria in a 24-year-old Afghan refugee in Austria in May 2022: a case report

M T Traugott  1 , S Pleininger  2 , S Inschlag-Tisch  3 , B Eder  4 , T Seitz  4 , A Merrelaar  4 , J Reiß-Kornfehl  5 , J Fussi  3 , S Schindler  2 , M Blaschitz  2 , F Heger  2 , A Indra  2 , M Karolyi  4 , M Staudacher  4 , T Oelschlaegel  4 , W Hoepler  4 , S Neuhold  4 , C Wenisch  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of fulminant respiratory diphtheria in a 24-year-old Afghan refugee in Austria in May 2022: a case report

M T Traugott et al. Infection. 2023 Apr.

Erratum in

Abstract

Purpose: Raising awareness of respiratory diphtheria and for the importance of early antitoxin administration.

Methods: Report of a case of fulminant, imported respiratory diphtheria in an otherwise healthy 24-year-old Afghan refugee in Austria in May 2022.

Result: This was the first case of respiratory diphtheria in Austria since 1993. Diphtheria antitoxin was administered at an already progressed disease stage. This delay contributed to a fulminant disease course with multiorgan failure and death.

Conclusion: In high-income countries with low case numbers, awareness of respiratory diphtheria and for the importance of early antitoxin administration must be raised.

Keywords: Afghan; Austria; Diphtheria antitoxin; Migration; Respiratory diphtheria; Toxin-producing Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors have any competing interests to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
timeline of disease progression. ENT ear nose and throat, CT computed tomography, ICU intensive care unit, IU international units, C. Corynebacterium, PCR polymerase chain reaction, VV ECMO veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, CVVHDF continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration, VA ECMO veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flexible endoscopy with membranes in the hypopharynx and edematous epiglottis (day 3) (© J. Reiß-Kornfehl)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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