The study of the prognostic outcome of necrotizing fasciitis patients with and without diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background: Necrotizing fasciitis is highly lethal infection. It can be defined as infection of any layers within the soft tissue compartment (dermis, subcutaneous tissue, superficial fascia, deep fascia or muscle). Early diagnosis and management with identification of co morbidities and treating them brings down the morbidity and mortality rate. To make a full assessment of the cause, all patients require a detailed history, examination and, investigations.Methods: This is a cross sectional comparative study of 50 patients having symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis to be divided into two groups of 25 patients each where one group is having diabetes mellitus and other group without diabetes mellitus.Results: Diabetes mellitus patients have more morbidity and mortality in term of more days of hospital stay, rate of amputations and number of debridements. Early diagnosis and early aggressive debridement is the mainstay of management. Aggressive surgical debridement at initial stages of presentation can halt the clinical process and patient can have better prognosis. In neglected diabetic patient’s debridement alone is not sufficient and amputation may be required in some cases. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and aggressive debridement in necrotizing fasciitis patients results in better outcomes.