page_title: Necrotizing fasciitis
section_title: Diagnosis
hierarchical_section_title: Necrotizing fasciitis / Diagnosis
caption_attribution_description: English: Necrotising fascitis causing air in soft tissues
context_page_description: Necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, is an infection that results in the death of parts of the body's soft tissue. It is a severe disease of sudden onset that spreads rapidly. Symptoms usually include red or purple skin in the affected area, severe pain, fever, and vomiting. The most commonly affected areas are the limbs and perineum.
  Typically, the infection enters the body through a break in the skin such as a cut or burn. Risk factors include poor immune function such as from diabetes or cancer, obesity, alcoholism, intravenous drug use, and peripheral artery disease. It is not typically spread between people. The disease is classified into four types, depending on the infecting organism. Between 55 and 80% of cases involve more than one type of bacteria. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is involved in up to a third of cases. Medical imaging is often helpful to confirm the diagnosis.
  Necrotizing fasciitis may be prevented with proper wound care and handwashing. It is usually treated with surgery to remove the infected tissue, and intravenous antibiotics.
context_section_description: Early diagnosis is difficult, as the disease often looks early on like a simple superficial skin infection. While a number of laboratory and imaging modalities can raise the suspicion for necrotizing fasciitis, none can rule it out. The gold standard for diagnosis is a surgical exploration in a setting of high suspicion. When in doubt, a small incision can be made into the affected tissue, and if a finger easily separates the tissue along the fascial plane, the diagnosis is confirmed and an extensive debridement should be performed.
caption: Necrotizing fasciitis producing gas in the soft tissues as seen on CT scan
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