What Is Diphtheria?
10. Systemic disease
As mentioned above, diphtheria is a potentially life-threatening disease that can also affect important vital organs. It can cause myocarditis or inflammation of the middle muscle layer of the heart (myocardium). Cardiac toxicity usually occurs some weeks after the first phase of the disease (pharyngeal phase). It occurs most frequently in non-vaccinated people, roughly 60 percent of patients. Alterations or irregularities of the cardiac rhythm can also occur in these patients.
Finally, neurologic toxicity is caused by the exotoxin of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. In short, common targets are nerves to the throat, which may result in difficulty swallowing, and to the arms and legs, causing muscle weakness. Many other nerves may be affected; however, if the innervation for breathing muscles is affected, these can become paralyzed. In this case, the patient might require mechanical assistance for breathing.
Advertisement
