Necrotizing fasciitis is a rapidly progressing infection of soft tissue.
Reproduced with permission from DermNet New Zealand and Waikato District Health Board www.dermnetnz.org 2023.
People with necrotizing fasciitis are often in pain out of proportion to how their skin looks.
Reproduced with permission from © DermNet New Zealand and © Waikato District Health Board www.dermnetnz.org 2023.
Often the infection starts at:
Quickly Spreading Infection
The infection spreads rapidly.
Often, an infected area of the skin can spread as fast as an inch every hour.
At this point, severe symptoms such as confusion, weakness, and delirium may occur.
The affected area may even split open, oozing large amounts of fluid.
Without treatment, the outcome is death.
But, in necrotizing fasciitis, several types of bacteria, includingStaphylococcusand others are associated with the disorder.
Sometimes the early symptoms appear much like other common infections (such as the flu or strep throat).
The surgeon looks for:
Another finding includes the lack of resistance of the fascia.
These signs are often definitive for a diagnosis.
When a person develops complications (such as toxic shock), the mortality rate increases to 60%.
Coping
Its important to educate yourself on aspects of the disease such as treatment options.
If you are unsure about your plan of treatment, get a second opinion.
Also, reach out for emotional support.
Organizations such as theNecrotizing Fasciitis Foundationcan point you in the right direction.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Muscle pain: it may actually be your fascia.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical guidance for key in II necrotizing fasciitis.
DermNet NZ.What is necrotizing fasciitis?
National Organization of Rare Diseases (NORD).Necrotizing fasciitis.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About necrotizing fasciitis.
2016;137(2):414e-423e.
