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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Locked Jaw And Foaming At The Mouth. What Is This Condition Called?

Hello, I am an acute care paramedic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We were given a scenario today......it was a pt who had a locked jaw and was foaming at the mouth (pink froth) and the pt was in a fast PEA. So, we knew as a crew the pt was in cardiac arrest , with pulmonary flash edema , but why the locked jaw? We were told he has a condition called masseter spasm . This is all new to me and I have been in EMS for 12 years. We do not have a protocol to give Succinylcholine, but this is what the dr stated we should have done. We were able to get a king tube in with the little opening and get some chest rise, with lots of suctioning....and we did get a pulse back. But if we did not get that tube in, our only other choice would have been to cryc the pt (as per our AHS protocols). Can you give us your some feedback on this and also why the use of Succinylcholine? Thanks, Kim Showman YYYY@YYYY
posted on Mon, 19 Nov 2012
Twitter Thu, 29 Nov 2012 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 30 Nov 2012 Last reviewed on
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Allergist and Immunologist,  's  Response
Hello,
Locked jaw or masseter muscle spasm can occur due to (1) tetanus toxoid or tetanus; (2) bad bite or misadjustment of the tempero-mandibular joint (TMJ) leading to spasm; (3) advanced ageing when continuous grinding of the teeth can lead to lock jaw.

Succinylcholine is a short acting muscle relaxant , a depolarising neuromuscular blocker, that relaxes the muscles and is used as an aid to tracheal intubation in such cases. It has the fastest onset of action compared to other drugs and hence a favourite in emergency settings.

Hope that answers your query.
Best Wishes.
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Locked Jaw And Foaming At The Mouth. What Is This Condition Called?

Hello, Locked jaw or masseter muscle spasm can occur due to (1) tetanus toxoid or tetanus; (2) bad bite or misadjustment of the tempero-mandibular joint (TMJ) leading to spasm; (3) advanced ageing when continuous grinding of the teeth can lead to lock jaw. Succinylcholine is a short acting muscle relaxant , a depolarising neuromuscular blocker, that relaxes the muscles and is used as an aid to tracheal intubation in such cases. It has the fastest onset of action compared to other drugs and hence a favourite in emergency settings. Hope that answers your query. Best Wishes.