• Ali H Altalag, Mohammed A Badawee, Sahar A Hassan, Nahla A Habiballa, Naif M Alotaibi, Ehab A Ahmed, Mohammed N Aljuaid, Muhammad A Almalki, Ahmed A Alahmari, and Adulrahman A Alshehri.
• From the Intensive Care Services (Altalag, Badawee, Hassan, Alotaibi, Ahmed, Aljuaid, Almalki, Alahmari, Alshehri); and from the Department of Infection Control (Habiballa), Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Med J. 2024 Jun 1; 45 (6): 626632626-632.

ObjectivesTo shed some light on a potential therapeutic modality that may facilitate resolution of botulism symptoms, namely 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP).MethodsIn Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, we recently encountered a foodborne botulism outbreak that, luckily, was discovered early. In Prince Sultan Military Medical city, we admitted, during a period of approximately 3 weeks, 15 probable cases, 2 of which were excluded due to more likely alternative diagnoses. We report in this case series 13 highly suspected cases of botulism that we encountered during the outbreak.ResultsA total of 12 out of 13 patients required intensive care unit (ICU) admission, one of which required intubation. Symptoms included cranial nerve palsies, gastrointestinal symptoms, limb and respiratory muscle weakness. Patients showed clinical improvement when received botulinum antitoxin and 3,4-DAP if given early in the course of the disease.ConclusionEarly admisntration of 3,4-DAP may facilitate recovery and prevent disease progression. Larger prospective trials should be carried out to confirm that.Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.

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