Wong, J Bone Joint Surg Am 2003 - Necrotizing Fasciitis: Clinical Presentation, Microbiology, and Determinants of Mortality

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Necrotizing Fasciitis: Clinical Presentation, Microbiology, and Determinants of Mortality

Wong, Low, et al.·J Bone Joint Surg Am·2003·978 citations·Retrospective cohort

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Background

Necrotizing fasciitis is a life-threatening soft-tissue infection primarily involving the superficial fascia. The present report describes the clinical presentation and microbiological characteristics of this condition as well as the determinants of mortality associated with this uncommon surgical emergency.

Methods

The medical records of 89 consecutive patients who had been admitted to our institution for necrotizing fasciitis from January 1997 to August 2002 were reviewed retrospectively.

Results

The paucity of cutaneous findings early in the course of the disease makes the diagnosis difficult, and only 13 of the 89 patients had a diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis at the time of admission.
Preadmission treatment with antibiotics modified the initial clinical picture and often masked the severity of the underlying infection.
Polymicrobial synergistic infection was the most common cause (48 patients; 53.9%), with streptococci and enterobacteriaceae being the most common isolates.
Group-A streptococcus was the most common cause of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis.
The most common associated comorbidity was diabetes mellitus (63 patients; 70.8%).
Advanced age, 2 or more associated comorbidities, and a delay in surgery of more than 24 hours adversely affected the outcome.
Multivariate analysis showed that only a delay in surgery of more than 24 hours was correlated with increased mortality (p < 0.05; relative risk = 9.4).

Conclusions

Early operative débridement was demonstrated to reduce mortality among patients with this condition. A high index of suspicion is important in view of the paucity of specific cutaneous findings early in the course of the disease.

Copyright remains with the authors and publisher.

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Necrotizing Fasciitis: Clinical Presentation, Microbiology, and Determinants of Mortality

Wong, Low, et al.·J Bone Joint Surg Am·2003·978 citations·Retrospective cohort

|

Background

Necrotizing fasciitis is a life-threatening soft-tissue infection primarily involving the superficial fascia. The present report describes the clinical presentation and microbiological characteristics of this condition as well as the determinants of mortality associated with this uncommon surgical emergency.

Methods

The medical records of 89 consecutive patients who had been admitted to our institution for necrotizing fasciitis from January 1997 to August 2002 were reviewed retrospectively.

Results

The paucity of cutaneous findings early in the course of the disease makes the diagnosis difficult, and only 13 of the 89 patients had a diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis at the time of admission.
Preadmission treatment with antibiotics modified the initial clinical picture and often masked the severity of the underlying infection.
Polymicrobial synergistic infection was the most common cause (48 patients; 53.9%), with streptococci and enterobacteriaceae being the most common isolates.
Group-A streptococcus was the most common cause of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis.
The most common associated comorbidity was diabetes mellitus (63 patients; 70.8%).
Advanced age, 2 or more associated comorbidities, and a delay in surgery of more than 24 hours adversely affected the outcome.
Multivariate analysis showed that only a delay in surgery of more than 24 hours was correlated with increased mortality (p < 0.05; relative risk = 9.4).

Conclusions

Early operative débridement was demonstrated to reduce mortality among patients with this condition. A high index of suspicion is important in view of the paucity of specific cutaneous findings early in the course of the disease.

Copyright remains with the authors and publisher.

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