Hyperostosis and osteoarthritis in patients surviving after tetanus.

Twenty patients (12 men and 8 women) who had survived tetanus were examined for bone and joint abnormalities, 1-9 years after the disease. The radiographic findings in the elbows were abnormal in 13 out of 20 patients, as were the shoulders of all 3 patients examined. Insertion hyperostoses were found at the elbow and/or in the shoulder region in 5 (25%) of the patients. The hyperostoses were bilateral in 3 patients. One of the patients with hyperostoses also had calcifications in the soft tissue of the elbow. The abnormalities were associated with mild clinical symptoms. Trauma to the periosteum caused by repeated traction of muscular contractions is possibly the causative mechanism. Twelve patients (60%) had osteoarthritis of the elbow joint presumably secondary to the violent stress to the joint.