Necrotizing soft tissue infection

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum - abdomen

Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum - leg

Necrotizing soft tissue infection

Alternative Names:

Necrotizing fasciitis; Fasciitis - necrotizing; Flesh-eating bacteria; Soft tissue gangrene; Gangrene - soft-tissue
Symptoms:

Severe pain in the area
Swelling in the area
Discoloration in the area
- May appear reddened, bronzed, bruised, or purple (purpuric)
- Progresses to dusky, dark color
Bleeding into the skin
Visibly dead (necrotic) tissue
Patchy skin color
Skin breaks (open wound)
Skin around the wound feels hot and looks reddened, raised, or discolored (inflamed)
Oozing fluid ranging from yellowish-clear or yellowish-bloody to puslike
Fever
General ill feeling

Signs and tests:

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The appearance of the skin and underlying tissues, and the presence of gangrene (black or dead tissue) indicates a necrotizing soft tissue infection. Imaging tests, such as CT scans, are sometimes helpful.

Often a patient willbe diagnosed inthe operating roomby a surgeon. A gram stain and culture of drainage or tissue from the area mayfindwhich bacteria is causing the infection.