The aim of this study was to describe post-surgical tetanus in the infectious and tropical diseases department of Donka National Hospital. This was a retrospective descriptive study from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2023 and concerned all the files of patients received for tetanus with surgical entry. We carried out an exhaustive recruitment of all the files of patients meeting the selection criteria and the parameters studied were the sociodemographic characteristics, the clinical picture and the outcome of the hospitalized patients. The frequency of tetanus with surgical entry point was 5.60%. The mean age of patients was 27.0 years, with a sex ratio of 1.29. Regional hospitals 43/147 and private clinics 37/147 were the largest providers of these cases of tetanus. Among the surgical specialties, gynecology-obstetrics 63/147 was the type of surgery most frequently encountered as responsible for tetanus entry point. Trismus 147/147 and generalized contracture 124/147 were the most frequently found signs. Acute generalized tetanus was found in all patients, i.e. in 100% of cases, and we recorded a lethality of 36.73%. Surgical tetanus remains a public health problem in developing countries. Continuing education on tetanus should be provided to surgeons in general.
