title: An unusual infection of cervicofacial area caused by dental pathology: flesh-eating syndrome.
abstract: Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) of the cervicofacial area is highly rare, but physicians should be familiar with the presentation of this situation owing to the suddenness of its beginning, the rapidness of its spread, and ending with high mortality and morbidity. In this article, 5 patients with NF admitted to emergency department with dental pathology history were discussed with a review of the literature. The purpose of this case series is to raise awareness about NF of the cervicofacial area caused by dental pathologies. Five patients admitted to our emergency department between January 2012 and March 2015 and diagnosed as having cervicofacial NF were identified. All patients had dental pathologies. The parameters of the study were patients' age, sex, complaints, self- and family histories, physical examinations' findings, routine laboratory-computed tomographic findings, treatment, and complications. Two of the patients were older than 70 years. One of the patients was healthy but he lost time because of an inappropriate treatment. These 3 patients died. The remaining patients were discharged at the end of the prolonged and intensive treatment. Necrotizing fasciitis should always be remembered in the diagnosis of the infection of the cervicofacial area. Because of difficulty in its diagnosis, a delay in the treatment may result in a horrific outcome.
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Electronic address: drseri03@hotmail.com.
authors: Serife
authors: S
authors: Ozdinc
authors: Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Electronic address: eunlu@gmail.com.
authors: Ebru
authors: E
authors: Unlu
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Electronic address: oyaaruc76@hotmail.com.
authors: Oya
authors: O
authors: Oruc
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Electronic address: nesenuruser@hotmail.com.
authors: Nese Nur
authors: NN
authors: User
authors: Clinic of Emergency Medicine, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, İzmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir, Turkey. Electronic address: zkarakaya@gmail.com.
authors: Zeynep
authors: Z
authors: Karakaya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003646:Debridement; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D019115:Fasciitis, Necrotizing / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005491:Focal Infection, Dental / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014098:Toothache