title: Severe soft tissue infections of the extremities in patients admitted to an intensive care unit.
abstract: This report describes a retrospective analysis of 33 patients admitted to an intensive care unit with suspicion of necrotising fasciitis (NF) of the extremities. The aim of the study was to clarify the clinical presentation of NF in order to determine when early surgery should be considered. Twenty-one patients with surgically confirmed NF were compared to 12 patients with superficial soft tissue infection. At admission, patients with NF were more likely to have skin areas of ischaemia or necrosis, fluid-filled vesicles, and severe sepsis or septic shock.
authors.affiliation: Service de Réanimation Médicale and d'Immunologie Clinique, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France. zahar@necker.fr
authors.forename: J-R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Zahar
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goveia
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lesprit
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brun-Buisson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005121:Extremities / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D019115:Fasciitis, Necrotizing / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D006095:Gram-Positive Cocci / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018461:Soft Tissue Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery