image by: James Heilman, MD

HWN Suggests

Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections

NSTI’s have the potential to cause significant morbidity and have high rates of mortality if not identified and treated early. Infections may be polymicrobial or monomicrobial, gas-producing or non-gas-producing, and may affect any layer of soft tissue ranging form epidermis to fascia to muscle body. Lower extremities are more frequently affected than upper extremities especially in patients with diabetes and those with compromised blood flow. These infections progress rapidly over the course of hours, rarely occurring sub-acutely over days.

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Previously Featured

Emergency Department Management of Cellulitis and Other Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections

Cellulitis and other skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) are common presentations in the emergency department. This review describes the varied etiologies and patient presentations of the more common SSTIs: cellulitis, abscesses, and necrotizing soft-tissue infections.

Skin and Soft Tissue Infections – Cellulitis, Skin Abscesses and Necrotizing Fasciitis

Why do EM physicians spend so little time talking about the things we see the most often? You may not be as energized for cellulitis as you are for an ED thoracotomy, but skin and soft tissue infections are encountered on nearly every shift – and you can do a lot more good for a lot more patients by recognizing and treating these common infections the right way.

Soft Tissue Injuries of the Hand

This session presents a logical approach to the assessment, diagnosis and management of soft-tissue hand injuries in the ED, including suggested indications for early hand specialist referrals.

Spare the emergency visit for skin and soft-tissue infections

Although methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) grabs the lion's share of headlines, internists see patients with a plethora of conditions ranging from uncomplicated, superficial lesions to serious, potentially life-threatening deep-tissue infections.