Staphylococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome, Superantigenicity, and Hypersensitivity

Staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome.

A 28 year old male presented with fever, tachycardia, generalized lymphadenopathy and diffuse rash over the body. He failed to respond to intravenous antibiotics and developed cardiogenic shock, multiple organ failure and died within six hours after hospitalization. Staphylococcus aureus colonies were revealed on blood culture.

The Staphylococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome

Toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST1)t is a 22-kD exotoxin produced by most strains ofStaphylococcus aureus isolated from patients with toxic shock syndrome (TSS) (1) . TSST1 is a potent activator of monocytes and T cells . It acts on monocytes to induce the synthesis of IL-1 and TNF (2-4) . TSSTl also triggers T cell activation and proliferation (5), as well as the production of large amounts o...

Staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome: still a problem.

Evaluation of Surveillance Methods for Staphylococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome

We compared passive surveillance and International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, codes for completeness of staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome (TSS) surveillance in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Minnesota, USA. TSS-specific codes identified 55% of cases compared with 30% by passive surveillance and were more sensitive (p = 0.0005, McNemar chi2 12.25).

Staphylococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome Caused by Tampon Use

The authors report a case of near-fatal sepsis with multiorgan failure resulting from a Staphylococcal tampon-associated toxic shock syndrome, requiring a lengthy critical care admission. Successful treatment of this condition focuses on early identification, source control, and administration of antimicrobial agents. Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy used early may prevent widespread tissue n...