madthumbs
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 8244
Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa |
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 Necrotizing Fasciitis (Flesh-Eating Bacteria) |
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(work in progress)
Identifying Necrotizing Fasciitis:
 
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Necrotizing soft-tissue infection is a severe type of tissue infection that can involve the skin, subcutaneous fat, the muscle sheath (fascia), and the muscle. It can cause gangrene, tissue death, systemic disease, and death. |
| | Symptoms
* Severe pain in the area
* Swelling in the area
* Discoloration in the area
o May appear reddened, bronzed, bruised, or purple (purpuric)
o Progresses to dusky, dark color
* Bleeding into the skin
* Visibly dead (necrotic) tissue
* Patchy skin color
* Skin breaks (open wound)
* Skin around the wound feels hot and looks reddened, raised, or discolored (inflamed)
* Oozing fluid ranging from yellowish-clear or yellowish-bloody to puslike
* Fever
* General ill feeling
Signs and tests
The appearance of the skin and underlying tissues, and the presence of gangrene (black or dead tissue) indicates a necrotizing soft tissue infection. Imaging tests, such as CT scans, are sometimes helpful.
Often a patient will be diagnosed in the operating room by a surgeon. A gram stain and culture of drainage or tissue from the area may find which bacteria is causing the infection. |
- http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001443.htm
Current News:
| | A virtually eradicated disease that eats through people's skin, cartilage and bones is reappearing in Africa, Asia and South America, the World Health Organization warned Thursday. |
Woman Becomes Quadruple Amputee After Giving Birth
Conventional Treatment:
| | Flesh-eating bacteria, or Necrotizing Fasciitis, can be treated. From the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation site ( http://www.nnff.org/ ):
NF must be treated in the hospital with antibiotic IV therapy and aggressive debridement (removal) of affected tissue. Other treatments will take place depending upon the level of toxicity or organ failure being experienced by the patient. Medications to raise blood pressure, blood, and a new medicine called intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) are also used. A hyperbaric oxygen chamber is sometimes used in certain cases involving a mixed bacterial infection.
There's lots more good information about NF on the NNFF site. |
Recommended anti-biotics: penicillin G or clindamycin - http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rid=19675
New Hope on the Horizon:
| | Discovery Could Disarm Flesh-Eating Bacteria
02.20.06, 12:00 AM ET
MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they've discovered a secret weapon wielded by the family of Streptococci bacteria that causes strep throat, toxic shock and, in rare cases, the "flesh-eating bacteria."
These "group A" Streptococcus bacteria use a specific enzyme to escape defensive nets set up by the body's immune system, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) report.
The discovery could lead to new treatments for serious infections, the scientists say.
"These findings suggest a novel approach to treating serious Strep infections, such as flesh-eating disease, by assisting our body's own defense system," senior author Dr. Victor Nizet, associate professor of pediatrics at UCSD and an infectious diseases physician at Children's Hospital in San Diego, said in a prepared statement.
He and his colleagues studied the interaction between Strep bacteria and neutrophils, specialized white blood cells that play an important role in protecting the body against pathogenic microbes. Previous research found that neutrophils release "nets" composed of DNA and toxic compounds. These nets entrap and kill bacteria that have invaded the body.
But this study found that Strep bacteria release an enzyme that degrades these nets. This enables the Strep bacteria to escape the net and spread throughout the body. However, disabling the gene that creates this enzyme makes Strep bacteria vulnerable again to the nets.
"Deprived of this single enzyme, the mutant Strep strain was easily killed by human neutrophils. In addition, the mutant Strep bacteria no longer produced a spreading infection when injected into the skin of experimental mice," lead author John Buchanan, research scientist in the UCSD department of pediatrics, said in a prepared statement.
The findings appear in the Feb. 21 issue of the journal Current Biology. |
The successful use of maggots:
| | Abstract
Background.
The use of maggots to digest necrotic tissue as a form of wound debridement has a long history in medicine. Necrotizing fasciitis of the neck has a high mortality rate despite aggressive surgical and medical intervention. The use of maggots in this disease has been reported only once before.
Methods.
We report the case of a 73-year-old woman, who underwent neck dissection and had necrotizing fasciitis of the neck develop shortly after. After initial surgical wound debridement, we used maggots as a biosurgical method for further debridement. A net containing 100 maggots (Biobag; BioMonde, Germany) was used.
Results.
Daily wound dressing showed rapid improvement of the wound; 4 days after beginning treatment, the wound was free of necroses. |
Alternative Cures?:
| | Alternative Cure For
'Flesh-Eating' Bacteria
From Gayle Eversole
DHom, PhD, MH, CRNP, ND
4-8-5 |
http://margotbworldnews.com/archive/2005April/Apr8/bacteria.html
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