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Diphtheria

Symptoms: Sore throat (may range from mild to severe with painful swallowing and hoarseness) Drooling (suggests airway obstruction is about to occur) Fever and chills Bloody, watery (serosanguineous) drainage from nose Croup-like (barking) cough Stridor, difficulty breathing, or rapid breathing Absent breathing (apnea) may occur Bluish coloration of the skin may be caused by lack of oxygen Skin lesions can be seen in cutaneous diphtheria (usually seen in the tropics. Note: There may be no symptoms. Signs and tests: Physical examination may reveal the characteristic gray membrane (pseudomembrane) in the throat, enlarged lymph glands, and swelling of the neck or larynx. If diphtheria is suspected, treatment should be started immediately, even before the results of bacterial tests are available. Text Continues Below Tests used may include: Gram stain of membrane or throat culture to identify Corynebacterium diphtheriae. In individuals with myocarditis, results of an electrocardiogram (ECG) are often abnormal.

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