V. Jeyaraman1, R. Ashwin Chand2, Aju James Ashok3, Achu Jacob Philip4
BACKGROUND
Necrotising Fasciitis (NF) is a serious infection involving the fascia and subcutaneous tissues. Distinguishing necrotising fasciitis from a less severe infection is difficult, but crucial, since necrotising fasciitis is a surgical emergency. The treatment of choice for NF is rapid surgical debridement/fasciotomy and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. Since, NF occurs rarely, reports on its epidemiology, clinical features, resource utilisation and outcomes are commonly based on relatively small case series and cohorts limiting generalisation of reported findings.
The aim of the study is to examine the epidemiological features and explore clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with necrotising fasciitis. The findings may be applied in clinical evaluation, raise awareness and help in the prevention of disease complications.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a retrospective study of 35 patients with necrotising fasciitis between 2011 to April 2015. This study was done through the periods between 2011 to April 2015. Following history taking and physical examination, patients were subjected to routine laboratory investigations, plain chest x-ray and cardiological evaluation was done when indicated. After a diagnosis of NF was made, the patient was started empirically on broad-spectrum antibiotics and underwent serial wound debridement/fasciotomy and tissue samples were sent for culture and sensitivity. Based on the quantitative growth of organism and its antibiotic sensitivity, they were started on appropriate antibiotics. Serial dressings were done at the time of admission. Data was collected in a retrospective manner and were analysed and compared with other studies. Data charting was done using MS Excel 2010.
RESULTS
A total of 35 patients were diagnosed to have necrotising fasciitis. Majority of these patients fell within middle age groups with most of them presenting with NF involving the lower limb extremity. Almost, all patients presented with swelling on initial presentation followed by pain as the second most common clinical symptom. Trauma attributed as the leading predisposing factor with diabetes as the most common co-morbidity in our patients. In comparison to gram-positive bacteria/cocci, gram-negative bacteria were more common on isolating cultures from the wound.
CONCLUSION
We report that the incidence of NF during this period remained relatively constant. Trauma is the leading cause of NF in this study. Necrotising fasciitis is an uncommon disease presenting initially with symptoms and signs that may mimic cellulitis rendering a delay in the treatment involving surgical debridement. Patients most commonly presented with swelling and pain over the affected area along with fever. Co-morbidities such as diabetes seen in association with NF should be addressed. Though cultures showed more of gram-negative bacilli, initiation with broad-spectrum antibiotics is warranted as many cases reported gram-positive bacilli/cocci as well as combination of both gram-positive and negative growth obtained from the same site.
