Doctors in the U.K. report a rise in the number of cases of necrotizing fasciitis of the vulva.
Doctors at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust detailed three such cases in a paper published this month in BMJ Case Reports. All three women were hospitalized, and one died as a result. These cases are part of a growing trend in the UK, the doctors say, and infections that can cause necrotizing fasciitis are increasing in the U.S. as well.
In two of the cases, the women were diagnosed with vulvar necrotizing fasciitis in the emergency room. In the third, the woman developed it as a complication from an infected surgical wound.
Two of the women had the flesh-eating bacteria identified and treated with antibiotics after trips to the emergency room. Both of the victims "…needed needed 'extensive surgical debridement' and one woman underwent three separate surgeries to remove tissue, which later required reconstructive surgery." The third individual cited in the report was not as fortunate. She visited her doctor five days after noting a discolouration on her mons pubis. She too was treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately, she came in for treatment too late: necrotized tissue had taken hold in her abdomen, labia and hip. Sadly, she died, due to complications from sepsis a little over a day after she was admitted to hospital.
Take any early symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis seriously. If you're experiencing black or bluish discoloration of your skin, swelling, a fever, wicked bad pain or blisters around a wound filled full of a dark fluid, get yourself to medical care as soon as possible.
Previously:
• Florida man infected with flesh-eating bacteria after being bitten by family member
• Peter Watts blogs from near-death experience with flesh-eating bacteria
