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Volume 26 Issue 2 (2000)
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	Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection - An Increasing Problem in Orthopedic Trauma (Page 62)
	Nikolaus Schwarz, Heinz Redl, Herbert Grasslober, Bettina Krebitz
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	Abstract:
	In a trauma hospital 5 patients with necrotizing faciitis were observed during the last 7 years. The causative agent was streptococci B in 1 patient, streptococci A in 3 patients, and staphylococci in 1 patient. Three patients developed a toxic shock syndrome, which was fatal in 2. One patient was treated for a gout arthritis with intramuscular injection of NSAID, 2 patients were treated for fractures, and 2 for soft tissue injuries. Potential risk factors for a necrotizing soft tissue inflammation was a metabolic syndrome plus chronic nasopharyngeal infections in 1 patient, obesity in 1, and an occult myeloic leukemia in 1 patient. The problem of necrotizing fasciitis in trauma patients is not new, but own observations and the literature suggest an increasing frequency of this disease over the last decade. Necrotizing fasciitis can be encountered unexpectedly in any given situation, early diagnosis which can be very difficult is the clue to successful treatment.