Several reports over the past decade have suggested that there has been an increase in the number of invasive @entity883 with young @entity1 and the elderly being at the highest risk. We evaluated the incidence of @entity9764 ( @entity9764 ) and compared it with historic data collected at our institution. Prospective data were collected on @entity1 diagnosed with @entity9764 (with and without @entity1457 ) admitted to a tertiary-care center from July 1995 to July 2000. Each @entity1 was followed by an infectious disease specialist throughout the hospital stay. Definitions of streptococcal @entity137 (STSS) developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used. Thirty-eight @entity1 (mean age of 39+/-12) presenting with @entity9764 soft-tissue infections were admitted to our institution over a 5-year period (7.6 @entity1 per year). Fourteen (37%) were diagnosed with STSS. This represents a greater than fourfold increase in the average number of cases per year of @entity1 diagnosed with @entity9764 and a nearly 4.5 times greater increase in the annual number of @entity1 diagnosed with STSS. The overall mortality of @entity1 diagnosed with @entity9764 was 13 per cent, which increased to 36 per cent in @entity1 diagnosed with STSS. We conclude that there has been a significant increase in the incidence of @entity9764 soft-tissue infections over the past 5 years at our institution. This may represent a new virulent strain, as the majority of these infections did not occur in typical high-risk @entity1 at the extremes of their lives. Further epidemiologic population-based studies are needed to further delineate the severe nature of this problem.

@entity9764 ( XXXX ) soft-tissue infections: a lethal organism on the rise.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'patients', 'patient'] @entity883 :: ('MESH:D013290', 'Disease') :: ['streptococcal infections'] @entity137 :: ('MESH:D064420', 'Disease') :: ['toxic shock syndrome'] @entity9764 :: ('2588', 'Gene') :: ['group A Streptococcus', 'GAS'] @entity1457 :: ('MESH:D012769', 'Disease') :: ['shock']
@entity9764 :: (2588,Gene) :: ['GAS']
