Prevalence Of Soft Tissue Infections Research Articles

Necrotizing soft-tissue infections: our experience at rural tertiary care centre

Background: Necrotizing soft-tissue infections are infection of any of the layers within the soft tissue compartment that are associated with necrotizing changes. These infections are highly lethal if not diagnosed. The purpose of this article is to assess the different diagnostic tools. Methods: We carried out a retrospective study to assess the prevalence of soft tissue infections at Geetanjali medical college and hospital, Udaipur (Tertiary care rural centre) in last four years. Clinical details of the 216 patients with soft tissue infection were recorded from their case sheets and were analyzed with reference to their age, sex, risk factor, symptoms, etiology, microbiology, treatment employed, complication and final outcome etc. Results: Pain and swelling were commonest presenting symptoms found in every case. Diabetes and Trauma were major predisposing factor in our series. NSTI differ from NNSTI with respect to presence of blister (50% versus 5.8%), Dusky discoloration (58.3% versus 0%), Necrotic skin (51.04% versus 0% ) and Crepitance (6.2% versus 0%). In present series’ most common organism causing NSTI in our institute is gram negative bacilli .Prompt resuscitation followed by early and adequate debridement remains the cornerstone of management of NSTI. Conclusions: Diagnosis of necrotizing infection is challenging but there are enough tools including clinical findings, biochemical parameters, imaging aids and invasive procedures that can help make the diagnosis. When in doubt, exploration of the compromised tissue should be performed. The mainstay of treatment is early and adequate surgical debridement.

The safety of flucloxacillin in HIV-infected patients with positive HLA-B*5701 genotype

Positive HLA-B*5701 genotype has recently been identified as the main genetic risk factor for flucloxacillin drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Testing for HLA-B*5701 is routine in many HIV clinics to identify those at risk of hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) to abacavir. Considering the high prevalence of soft-tissue infections in HIV patients, we conducted a retrospective study to investigate whether flucloxacillin use was associated with adverse events in HIV patients known to be HLA-B*5701 positive.

Type and location of injection drug use-related soft tissue infections predict hospitalization.

The prevalence of soft tissue infections (abscesses, cellulitides, infected ulcers) among injection drug users (IDUs) is estimated to be between 21% and 32%. Little is known regarding the health care utilization associated with these infections. This study describes IDUs seeking emergency department (ED) care for soft tissue infections, their inpatient health care utilization, including operating room procedures, and the types and locations of infections associated with increased inpatient health care utilization. This study used a medical record case series of all IDUs seeking initial care for soft tissue infections at an urban, public emergency department from November 1999 through April 2000. Initial care for IDU-related soft tissue infections was sought by 242 patients. Most were male (63.6%), Caucasian (69.4%) and without health insurance (52.0%), and most had abscesses (72.3%). All patients with only cellulitis had arm or leg infections, while most abscesses were arm, deltoid, or buttock infections (81.1%). Forty percent of the patients were hospitalized, and 44.3% of the hospitalizations were for 3 or more days. Patients with only cellulitis were more likely to be hospitalized compared to those with abscesses. Among those with abscesses, deltoid abscesses were 5.2 times more likely to receive an operating room procedure compared to other abscess locations. IDUs with cellulitis and deltoid abscesses commonly required inpatient care and operating room procedures. The morbidity associated with such infections and the intensive use of hospital services needed to treat these infections provide strong rationale for the development of preventive interventions and improved care for this neglected clinical problem.