Perception of Medical Students Regarding Tetanus Immunization: A Cross-sectional Study

The present study was planned to assess the awareness and importance of tetanus immunization among medical students of a medical college in Andhra Pradesh, India. Tetanospasmin, an exotoxin and extremely potent neurotoxin produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani, causes tetanus, an acute and frequently fatal disease. Tetanus can be avoided by receiving a tetanus toxoid vaccination (TT). To avoid wound-related tetanus, one must have a thorough understanding of tetanus immunisation in wounds. Knowledge regarding TT vaccination as per the NIS among all levels of health care personnel is important not only for the prevention of neonatal tetanus but also tetanus in the children and adults.

The present cross-sectional study was conducted among final year medical students of Katuri Medical College and Hospital, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh during June –August 2010. A pre-tested, pre-designed questionnaire was adapted.

In the present study, most of the students lacked the adequate knowledge of the vaccine schedule in children below 16 years. A total of 68.97 % students were not aware of the number of doses of tetanus vaccine recommended for children under the age of 16 years and 62.07% students were not aware of the number of doses of tetanus vaccine recommended for adults over the age of 16 years. More than half of the study population (51.15%) considered every cut injury to be tetanus prone. The majority of the students (79.31% and 77.01%) considered burn injury and animal bite wounds to be tetanus prone. More than 70% of the students were aware that age of the wound, type of wound and previous immunization status of patients as important considerations before immunizing a patient against tetanus. Though respondents in this study recommend the use of HTIG in unimmunized person with category B wounds but this does not reflect in actual practice. The reason behind this may be the high cost & unavailability of HTIG readily in such setups.

Better awareness and knowledge regarding tetanus vaccine is needed in medical students which are future health care providers.