Necrotizing soft tissue infections: APACHE II score, dissemination, and survival.

BACKGROUND: First described more than a century ago, necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs) continue to cause high mortality and morbidity. The aim of this study was to elucidate the factors affecting the outcome of patients presenting with an NSTI.

METHODS: To determine the factors affecting mortality from NSTIs, the records of 67 patients were retrospectively assessed for the following parameters: age, sex, time between initiation of symptoms and admission to the clinic, presence of systemic coexisting disease, APACHE II score, origin of infection, dissemination of the NSTI, and method of therapy.

RESULTS: The patients were 41 men (61.2%) and 26 women (38.8%) with a mean age of 54.9 +/- 1.73 years. The overall mortality rate was 49% (33/67). Multivariate analysis determined that APACHE II scores of 13 or higher (p = 0.001) and NSTI dissemination (p = 0.02) were risk factors affecting the mortality of patients with NSTIs.

CONCLUSION: By considering these two factors, more accurate outcome prediction may be possible, which may be useful for directing the management of patients with NSTIs.