Surgical considerations in pediatric necrotizing fasciitis

oleh: Pandey A, Gangopadhyay A, Sharma S, Kumar V, Gopal S, Gupta D

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2009-01-01

Deskripsi

<b>Background:</b> Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a serious infection of soft tissues. This paper presents experience with pediatric NF and suitability of conservative surgery in its management. <b> Materials and Methods</b> : In this retrospective study, 70 patients of NF were managed during the study period of eight years. The study was divided into two time periods- first period (June 1998 to June 2001- group 1) and second period (June 2001 to June 2006- group 2). The parameters studied were age, sex, site of involvement and treatment. The treatment included intravenous antibiotics, supportive therapy and either aggressive (group 1) or conservative surgery (group 2). <b> Results:</b> Age of presentation ranged from 10 days to 11 years. Male to female ratio was 1.69:1. Back was the commonest site to be involved. Culture reports were polymicrobial in 70&#x0025; with predominance of <i> Staphylococcus</i> species. Predisposing factors included malnourishment, boils, scratch injury, intravenous cannulation and injections. Conservative surgery had better outcome in terms of hospital stay, complications and cost of treatment. <b> Conclusion: </b> NF is a serious and disease which requires immediate and all out attention. Early diagnosis, aggressive supportive treatment and conservative surgery improve survival.