The investigators examined the hypothesis that serum lactate is raised in early necrotizing fasciitis to a much greater extent than in other differential diagnoses, such as severe cellulitis, and therefore provides a diagnostic indicator.
A prospective comparison of serum lactate levels at referral to the Plastic Surgery team to the 'gold standard' test of histology at initial surgical debridement, looking at 53 consecutive patients referred with suspected necrotizing fasciitis to a single surgeon at one institution between 2000 and 2010.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
53
Wexham Park Hospital
Slough, London, United Kingdom
Serum lactate level
Serum lactate level at initial referral to the plastic surgery team, as measured by arterial blood gas analysis (calibrated point-of-care testing). Levels compared between the group with confirmed histological necrosis at initial surgical debridement, versus those with no evidence of necrosis (a composite of those who did not undergo surgery as they were judged not to have necrotizing fasciitis, and those who did undergo surgery, but whose histology did not show tissue necrosis).
Time frame: At referral to the Plastic Surgery Team
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