Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2018 May 15;57(10):1479-1481.
doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.9277-17. Epub 2018 Jan 11.

A Fatal Case of Super-super Obesity (BMI >80) in a Patient with a Necrotic Soft Tissue Infection

Toshihiko Yoshizawa  1 , Kouhei Ishikawa  1 , Hiroki Nagasawa  1 , Ikuto Takeuchi  1 , Kei Jitsuiki  1 , Kazuhiko Omori  1 , Hiromichi Ohsaka  1 , Youichi Yanagawa  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Fatal Case of Super-super Obesity (BMI >80) in a Patient with a Necrotic Soft Tissue Infection

Toshihiko Yoshizawa et al. Intern Med. .

Abstract

A 35-year-old man (height, 169 cm; body weight, 240 kg; BMI, 84) visited the Department of Dermatology due to left leg pain and swelling. Focused enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the left leg ruled out complications of deep venous thrombosis. Surgical exploration of the left leg resulted in a diagnosis of necrotic soft tissue infection, but amputation was ruled out due to his weight. The patient ultimately died of multiple organ failure on the fourth day of hospitalization. A culture of the surgical material revealed Streptococcus dysgalactiae. The present case suggests that super-obese patients should be aggressively treated before lethal complications occur.

Keywords: Streptococcus dysgalactiae; cellulitis; super-super obesity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure.
Figure.
The patient’s left leg on arrival. His left leg showed redness, swelling, and tenderness.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Flegal KM, Kit BK, Orpana H, Graubard BI. Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 309: 71-82, 2013. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pepper DJ, Sun J, Welsh J, et al. . Increased body mass index and adjusted mortality in ICU patients with sepsis or septic shock: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Care 20: 181, 2016. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fazylov RM, Savel RH, Horovitz JH, et al. . Association of super-super-obesity and male gender with elevated mortality in patients undergoing the duodenal switch procedure. Obes Surg 15: 618-623, 2005. - PubMed
    1. Wong CH, Chang HC, Pasupathy S, et al. . Necrotizing fasciitis: clinical presentation, microbiology, and determinants of mortality. J Bone Joint Surg Am 85: 1454-1460, 2003. - PubMed
    1. Rogers AD, Shahrokhi S. Surgical management of necrotizing soft tissue infection. Up To Date. [Internet]. 2017 Feb. 21 [cited 2017 Apr. 1]. Available from: http://www.uptodate.com/contents/surgical-management-of-necrotizing-soft...

Publication types