The general public and even some medical professionals lack in depth information on Necrotizing Fasciitis (NF). Most Americans have not heard of NF or do not have enough information about it to know what actions to take. NF is commonly misdiagnosed and potentially fatal because it is not caught in time. I will discuss what NF is, it’s causes, describe clinical presentation, treatment options, and the prognosis of this disease. In hopes that more people can be made aware of this deadly disease.

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) has been called the “flesh eating bacteria” by the media. This past summer there were a few cases of NF on Galveston beaches. Most likely it was caused by the strain Dr. Edlich talks about in his paper Necrotizing Fasciitis: …show more content…
Edlich states that NF is caused by bacteria and usually not just one, but a combination of different bacteria working together. Both aerobic and anaerobic as well as fungal infections work symbiotically and grow and spread through a person who is usually already dealing with a “chronic systemic illness.” The CDC states that people who are immunocompromised, have DM, cancer, liver or kidney disease, open/broken skin, such as surgical wounds, insect bites, nicks, etc. are at a higher risk for infection of NF. Also, if a person has recently had chicken pox or other viral infections, use of subcutaneous injected drug use (“Type III caused by clostridial myonecrosis- Dr.Edlich”) and steroid use can increase the risk for infection.

Clinical presentation of NF varies and that is why NF is harder to diagnose. The CDC states that some of the most common bacteria that cause NF are group A Streptococcus(Type II NF- Dr.Edlich), Klebsiella, Clostridium, E. coli, Staph Aureus, and Aeromonas hydrophila as well as others. The NNFF lists general symptoms from early to advanced as NF progresses as follows: • Trauma as insignificant as a paper cut or insect bite, cuts, bruise, scratch, to surgical wounds. • Annoying discomfort in general region of the trauma. • Pain described gets worse, area more tender. This is one of the major things to keep in mind. The pain one feels is out of proportion to the …show more content…
This may or may not be present. • Large, dark boil-like blister(s) may or may not form in the affected area • Toxic shock due to organ failure. • Death.
In order to try and prevent death early diagnosis is key. Tests used to diagnose NF per NNFF is lab work such as CBC, WBC, CRP, BUN test. Other diagnosis tools are surgical exploration, imaging studies such as CT scans, MRI’s and ultrasounds.

NNFF states that once NF has been diagnosed the treatment options vary due to location of infection, type of bacteria and other factors. But the general treatments include Broad Spectrum Antibiotics (tailored to specific bacterial strains through blood cultures), surgical debridement, amputation to get ahead of the infection, induced sedation and ventilation, Wound Vac, treatment for sepsis/toxic shock, organ failure, respiratory distress, aggressive wound care and repeated lab