Abstract
Purpura fulminans is a rare and extremely severe infection, mostly due to Neisseria meningitidis frequently causing early orthopedic lesions. Few studies have reported on the initial surgical management of acute purpura fulminans. The aim of this study is to look at the predictive factors in orthopedic outcome in light of the initial surgical management in children surviving initial resuscitation. Nineteen patients referred to our institution between 1987 and 2005 were taken care of at the very beginning of the purpura fulminans. All cases were retrospectively reviewed so as to collect information on the total skin necrosis, vascular insufficiency, gangrene, and total duration of vasopressive treatment. All patients had multiorgan failure; only one never developed any skin necrosis or ischemia. Eighteen patients lost tissue, leading to 22 skin grafts, including two total skin grafts. There was only one graft failure. Thirteen patients were concerned by an amputation, representing, in total, 54 fingers, 36 toes, two transmetatarsal, and ten transtibial below-knee amputations, with a mean delay of 4weeks after onset of the disease. Necrosis seems to affect mainly the lower limbs, but there is no predictive factor that impacted on the orthopedic outcome. We did not perform any fasciotomy or compartment pressure measurement to avoid non-perfusion worsening; nonetheless, our outcome in this series is comparable to existing series in the literature. V.A.C.(®) therapy could be promising regarding the management of skin necrosis in this particular context. While suffering from general multiorgan failure, great care should be observed not to miss any additional osseous or articular infection, as some patients also develop local osteitis and osteomyelitis that are often not diagnosed. We do not advocate very early surgery during the acute phase of purpura fulminans, as it does not change the orthopedic outcome in these children. By performing amputations and skin coverage some time after the acute phase, we obtained similar results to those found in the literature.
Highlights
Purpura fulminans is an extremely severe infection, mainly due to Neisseria meningitidis or meningococcus
The aim of this study is to look at the predictive factors in orthopedic outcome in light of the initial surgical management in children surviving initial resuscitation
Necrosis seems to affect mainly the lower limbs, but there is no predictive factor that impacted on the orthopedic outcome
Summary
Purpura fulminans is an extremely severe infection, mainly due to Neisseria meningitidis or meningococcus. It is not yet known how this bacteria penetrates the mucosa in order to infiltrate the blood system and initiate a complex cascade of events leading to disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) The latter creates microthrombotic processes depriving the more distal and less oxygenated tissues from sufficient blood supply, and deprivation in coagulation factors, leading to shock and multiple-organ damage [1, 2]. This purpura fulminans condition can seldom be caused by other Gram-negative bacteria and by hemorrhagic fever viruses or varicella. The aim of this study is to look at the predictive factors in orthopedic outcome in light of the initial surgical management in children surviving initial resuscitation
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have