Specimen Information

Type

Gold, SST

Volume

1.0 ml

Transport Info

Centrifuge and immediately transfer serum to separate plastic tube
Mark specimens clearly as "Pre-Vaccine" or "Post-Vaccine"
Refrigerated

Fasting Required?

False

Clinical Significance

Tetanus antibody test is used primarily to determine a patient's antibody response to protein toxoid.

Tetanus is an acute infectious disease characterized by intermittent tonic spasms of voluntary muscles. It is caused by an exotoxin elaborated by Clostridium tetani , a slender, gram positive, sporulating, motile, anaerobic bacillus. The organisms and spores can be found in soil and in animal feces. The spores can be easily introduced into wounds. If they find a suitable deep wound with reduced oxidation, they will germinate and the bacillus will reproduce. Exotoxin enters the central nervous system (CNS) along peripheral motor nerves, or it may be blood-borne to the nervous tissue where it binds to the ganglioside membranes of nerve synapses. There it blocks release of the inhibitory transmitter from the nerve synapses causing a generalized tonic spasticity, upon which intermittent toxic convulsions are usually superimposed. Once fixed, the toxin cannot be neutralized. Immunization against this toxin is a very effective preventative measure. The tetanus antibody test is used primarily to determine a patient's antibody response to protein toxoid. The majority of this antibody falls within IgG/subclass 1. The presence of antibody to tetanus in a concentration of greater than 0.10 IU is considered protective. Another use of the test is the diagnosis of antibody deficiency in patients with recurrent infections, especially sinopulmonary and gastrointestinal infections. The work-up of patients suspected of antibody deficiency generally includes determination of quantitative concentrations of IgG, IgM, and IgA. If concentrations are low, low normal, or even normal, and antibody deficiency is still strongly suspected, IgG subclass determination and the response to protein antigens such as diphtheria, tetanus toxoid, and influenzae, as well as to pure polysaccharide antigens such as the unconjugated pneumococcal vaccine, should be determined.