Current diagnosis and management of necrotizing soft tissue infections: What you need to know

Abstract

Necrotizing soft tissue infections are rare bacterial infections of the skin and soft tissues with a high morbidity and mortality rate, requiring prompt diagnosis and surgical intervention. These represent a spectrum of disease resulting in tissue necrosis that is rapidly progressive; however, they remain a diagnostic challenge because the average surgeon or emergency medicine provider may only see one or two over the course of their career. Diagnosis is largely clinical and based on subtle physical examination findings, physiologic instability, and laboratory derangements. Aids to diagnosis such as scoring systems and cross-sectional imaging may be used; however, the findings are not specific, so management should not be based on these alone. The most common cause of necrotizing soft tissue infection is polymicrobial infection; however, specific bacteria such as clostridial species, group A streptococcal, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus , and aquatic bacteria may also be causative. Initial management includes broad spectrum antibiotics, fluid resuscitation for severe sepsis, and early aggressive surgical debridement. Often, these patients require multiple operative debridement to achieve source control, and a low threshold for repeat debridement should be maintained because these infections can progress rapidly. Once source control is achieved, patients may be left with extensive wounds requiring multidisciplinary care and wound management. Necrotizing infections have long been viewed based on mortality outcomes alone because of their rarity and severity. Over recent years, more reports have shown a decrease in the mortality rates from those previously reported, allowing for a focus on methods to improve morbidity of these infections.