Severe skin infections
Camille Windsor, Tomas Urbina, Nicolas de Prost- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
Purpose of review
The incidence of necrotizing soft-tissue infections (NSTI) has increased during recent decades. These infections are still associated with high morbidity and mortality, underlining a need for continued education of the medical community. This review will focus on practical approaches to management of NSTI focusing on antibiotic therapies and optimizing the management of group A streptococcus (GAS)-associated NSTIs.
Recent findings
Antibiotic therapy for NSTI patients faces several challenges as the rapid progression of NSTIs mandates broad-spectrum agents with bactericidal action. Current recommendations support using clindamycin in combination with penicillin in case of GAS-documented NSTIs. Linezolide could be an alternative in case of clindamycin resistance.
Summary
Reducing the time to diagnosis and first surgical debridement, initiating early broad-spectrum antibiotics and early referral to specialized centres are the key modifiable factors that may impact the prognosis of NSTIs. Causative organisms vary widely according to the topography of the infection, underlying conditions, and geographic location. Approximately one third of NSTIs are monomicrobial, involving mainly GAS or