Toxic Shock Syndrome— Scientific Uncertainty and the Public Media

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Abstract
After languishing in relative obscurity since its description in 1978,1 toxic shock syndrome has recently been thrust into the public domain by its reported association with tampon use.2,3 The myths, partial truths, and gross misconceptions promulgated in the media, presumably with the intent of informing the public, must now be brought into the perspective of existing data, necessitating a reconsideration of the balance between the public's "right to know" and the evolutionary process of scientific knowledge. Toxic shock syndrome is an acute febrile ifiness with mucocutaneous manifestations and multisystem involvement, the most severe manifestations being hypotension, renal failure, myocardial failure, and "shock lung syndrome."

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