Necrotising fascitis (NF), commonly known as flesh-eating disease, is a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues which easily spreads across the fascial plane within the subcutaneous tissue. Necrotising fasciitis is a severe disease of sudden onset that progresses rapidly.
It occurs more often in the immune compromised due to conditions such as diabetes or cancer. The disease is classified into four types, depending on the infecting organism. The most common type is caused by a mixture of bacterial types, and commonly occurs at sites of surgery or trauma, usually in abdominal or perineal areas and accounts for 55-75% of cases. Since 2001, a form of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis which is particularly difficult to treat has been observed with increasing frequency caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
It is usually treated with surgical debridement or amputation, and intravenous antibiotics. Delays in surgery are associated with higher mortality.
There are 0.04 cases per 1000 per year in the US. The most consistent feature of necrotising fasciitis was first described in 1952 as necrosis of the subcutaneous tissue and fascia with relative sparing of the underlying muscle.
We researched this topic for you and found the following best online resources. They are categorized into basic, advanced, and research level based on the extent of information you need. You will be taken to the respective websites by pressing on the links below.
Basic information:
http://www.cdc.gov/features/necrotizingfasciitis/ cdc necrotizing fasciitis: a rare disease, especially for the healthy
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/necrotizing-fasciitis-flesh-eating-bacteria-topic-overview web md topic overview
http://www.healthline.com/health/necrotizing-soft-tissue-infection health line necrotizing fasciitis (soft tissue inflammation)
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001443.htm medline plus necrotizing fasciitis
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/necrotising-fasciitis/pages/introduction.aspx nhs uk necrotizing fasciitis
http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthfiles/hfile60.stm health link bc necrotizing fasciitis(flesh-eating disease)
http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/dermatologic-disorders/bacterial-skin-infections/necrotizing-subcutaneous-infection merck manuals(professional version) necrotizing subcutaneous infection
http://www.livescience.com/20251-flesh-eating-bacteria.html live science what is flesh-eating bacteria?
http://www.everydayhealth.com/necrotizing-fasciitis/guide/ every day health what is necrotizing fasciitis?
http://www.healthcentral.com/encyclopedia/hc/necrotizing-fasciitis-3168661/ health central necrotizing fasciitis
Advanced information:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2051157-overview medscape necrotizing fasciitis
http://www.medicinenet.com/necrotizing_fasciitis/article.htm medicine net.com necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease)
http://www.dermnetnz.org/bacterial/necrotising-fasciitis.html derm net nz necrotizing fasciitis
http://patient.info/in/doctor/necrotising-fasciitis-pro patient necrotizing fasciitis
http://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/necrotizing-fasciitis/ national organisation for rare diseases necrotizing fasciitis
http://lifeinthefastlane.com/ccc/necrotising-fasciitis/ life in the fast lane necrotizing fasciitis
http://eyewiki.aao.org/periorbital_necrotizing_fasciitis american academy of ophthalmology necrotizing fasciitis
http://www.nycpm.edu/surgclub/necrotizing.pdf necrotizing fasciitis by lisa banks
http://radiopaedia.org/articles/necrotising-fasciitis radiopedia necrotizing fasciitis
http://www.orthobullets.com/trauma/1007/necrotizing-fasciitis ortho bullets necrotizing fasciitis
http://www.emdocs.net/necrotizing-fasciitis-pearls-pitfalls/ emdocs necrotizing fasciitis: pearls & pitfalls
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/7884.php medical news today what is necrotizing fasciitis? what is flesh-eating disease?
http://www.physio-pedia.com/necrotizing_fasciitis_(flesh_eating_disease) physiopedia necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating disease)
http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/necrotizing_soft_tissue_infections wheelees textbook of orthopedics necrotizing fasciitis
Research:
http://www.jebmh.com/data_pdf/pradeep%20soni%20---%20final.pdf pradeep soni, anil haripriya, santosh uddesh. “fournier’s gangrene: review of 57 cases in tertiary institution”. journal of evidence based medicine and healthcare; volume 2, issue 38, september 21, 2015; page: 6068-6072, doi: 10.18410/jebmh/2015/837
http://www.jemds.com/data_pdf/2_suresh_karlatti------------kum.pdf suresh karlatti, uma r. b. “necrotising fascitis 100 cases studied between 2008-2010”. journal of evolution of medical and dental sciences 2014; vol. 3, issue 69, december 11; page: 14818-14823, doi:10.14260/jemds/2014/3990
osunde od, akhiwu bi, efunkoya aa, adebola ar, iyogun ca, arotiba jt. management of fascial space infections in a nigerian teaching hospital: a 4-year review. niger med j [serial online] 2012 [cited 2016 jun 29];53:12-5. available from: http://www.nigeriamedj.com/text.asp?2012/53/1/12/99823
padmaja i j, ramani t v, kalyani s. cutaneous zygomycosis - necrotising fascitis due to saksenaea vasiformis. indian j med microbiol [serial online] 2006 [cited 2016 jun 29];24:58-60. available from: http://www.ijmm.org/text.asp?2006/24/1/58/19898
padmaja i j, ramani t v, kalyani s. cutaneous zygomycosis - necrotising fascitis due to saksenaea vasiformis. indian j med microbiol [serial online] 2006 [cited 2016 jun 29];24:58-60. available from: http://www.ijmm.org/text.asp?2006/24/1/58/19898
shaikh n. necrotizing fasciitis: a decade of surgical intensive care experience. indian j crit care med [serial online] 2006 [cited 2016 jun 30];10:225-9. available from: http://www.ijccm.org/text.asp?2006/10/4/225/29840
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s2352587815000224 necrotising fasciitis of the breast: a rare primary case with conservation of the nipple and literature review by bob yang et al., jpras open volume 6, december 2015, pages 15–19 doi:10.1016/j.jpra.2015.05.002
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2014/208072/ abhishek vijayakumar, rajeev pullagura, and durganna thimmappa, “necrotizing fasciitis: diagnostic challenges and current practices,” isrn infectious diseases, vol. 2014, article id 208072, 8 pages, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/208072
https://sjtrem.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1757-7241-17-28 necrotizing fasciitis of the lower extremity: a case report and current concept of diagnosis and management by ga naqvi et al., scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine200917:28 doi: 10.1186/1757-7241-17-28
http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/full/10.1148/rg.245035169 necrotizing fasciitis by j. brett fugitt, md, michael l. puckett, md, michael m. quigley, md, phd, and stewart m. kerr, md september 2004 volume 24, issue 5 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1148/rg.245035169
http://www.nature.com/eye/journal/v26/n3/full/eye2011241a.html eye (2012) 26, 463–467; doi:10.1038/eye.2011.241; published online 9 december 2011 multidisciplinary management of periocular necrotising fasciitis: a series of 11 patients by k tambe, a tripathi, j burns and r sampath
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fsurg.2014.00036/full review article front. surg., 29 september 2014 | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fsurg.2014.00036 current concepts in the management of necrotizing fasciitis by evangelos p. misiakos et al.,
sadasivan j, maroju nk, balasubramaniam a. necrotizing fasciitis. indian j plast surg [serial online] 2013 [cited 2016 jun 30];46:472-8. available from: http://www.ijps.org/text.asp?2013/46/3/472/121978
http://www.cfp.ca/content/55/10/981.full necrotizing fasciitis by rukshini puvanendran, mmed fcfp mb bs, jason chan meng huey, mb bs and shanker pasupathy, frcs mb bs canadian family physicianoctober 2009 vol. 55 no. 10981-987
chauhan d, arora r, das s, shroff d, narula r. bilateral periorbital necrotizing fasciitis following exposure to holi colors: a case report. indian j ophthalmol [serial online] 2007 [cited 2016 jun 30];55:373-4. available from: http://www.ijo.in/text.asp?2007/55/5/373/33824
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s0041-87812001000200005 krebs vlj et al. - necrotizing fasciitis in a newborn infant: a case report.rev. hosp. clín. fac. med. s. paulo 56(2):59-62, 2001.
Related videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkkshcvqdwa necrotizing fasciitis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyktrffwlhy necrotizing fasciitis - everything you need to know - dr. nabil ebraheim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr8ueq1fqwo necrotizing fasciitis in grey's anatomy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_cinzjlj9m necrotizing fasciitis
Presentations/quiz/newspaper articles:
http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-causes-necrotising-fasciitis-the-flesh-eating-bug-49369 the conversation explainer: what causes necrotising fasciitis, the flesh-eating bug?
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/11/21/necrotizing-fasciitis-new-treatment-discovered-for-deadly-flesh-eating-disease.html fox news necrotizing fasciitis: new treatment discovered for deadly flesh-eating disease
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/607634/flesh-eating-bug-eaten-alive-necrotising-fasciitis-pictures-hospital express uk man eaten alive by necrotizing fasciitis praises surgeon for saving his penis
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/17/necrotizing-fasciitis-life-after-flesh-eating-bacteria.html the daily beast necrotizing fasciitis: life after flesh-eating bacteria
http://www.ibtimes.com/flesh-eating-bacteria-ocean-necrotizing-fasciitis-coming-us-beaches-summer-1918539 ib times flesh-eating bacteria from the ocean? necrotizing fasciitis coming to us beaches this summer
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/17/health/flesh-eating-bacteria-explainer/ cnn flesh-eating condition caused by common bacteria
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/russell-kimble-overweight-man-survives-2162767 mirror overweight man survives deadly flesh-eating bug because of his extra bulk
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/aimee-copeland-24-battles-flesh-eating-necrotizing-fasciitis-following-zip-lining-accident/ cbs news aimee copeland, 24, battles flesh-eating necrotizing fasciitis following zip-lining accident