Necrotizing cellulitis
Background
- Patients are often much less toxic compared with necrotizing fasciitis/necrotizing myositis
- Two types:
- Anaerobic infection (clostridial and nonclostridial)
- Meleney's synergistic gangrene
- Rare infection that occurs in postop patients
- Characterized by slowly expanding indolent ulceration that is confined to superficial fascia
- Results from synergistic interaction between S. aureus and microaerophilic streptococci
Risk Factors
- Trauma
- Surgical contamination
- Spread of infection from bowel to perineum, abdominal wall, or lower extremities
Clinical Features
- Thin, dark, sometimes foul-smelling wound drainage (often containing fat globules)
- Tissue gas formation (crepitus)
Differential Diagnosis
Skin and Soft Tissue Infection
- Cellulitis
- Erysipelas
- Lymphangitis
- Folliculitis
- Hidradenitis suppurativa
- Skin abscess
- Necrotizing soft tissue infections
- Mycobacterium marinum
Look-A-Likes
- Sporotrichosis
- Osteomyelitis
- Deep venous thrombosis
- Pyomyositis
- Purple glove syndrome
- Tuberculosis (tuberculous inflammation of the skin)
Necrotizing rashes
- Necrotizing soft tissue infections
- Purpura fulminans
- Drug rash
- Levamisole toxicity
- Heparin-induced skin necrosis
- Warfarin-induced skin necrosis
Evaluation
Management
- Same as Necrotizing Fasciitis
Disposition
- Admit/OR