3
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Factors that affect the clinical course of group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infections of the hand and upper extremity: a retrospective study.

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Group A beta-haemolytic streptococcus is a well-known cause of necrotising fasciitis, which is increasing in incidence and severity. More aggressive soft tissue infections of the hand and upper extremity caused by this organism have been noted in our plastic surgical unit, prompting a five-year retrospective study to find out which factors affect clinical outcomes. The records of 31 patients, 27 male and 4 female, with Group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal soft tissue infections with a mean (SD) age of 25 (12) years were reviewed. Twenty-seven infections followed injuries, while four were spontaneous. Six patients required more than two operations to clear the infection, and one required free tissue transfer for closure of the resulting soft tissue deficit. Of the variables age, number of cigarettes consumed daily, interval from the date of injury to the date of presentation, coexisting infection with Staphylococcus aureus, and grade of infection at presentation, only the last correlated with the patients' clinical course (p<0.001). Those patients with spontaneous infections with pre-existing medical conditions had a worse prognosis, requiring more operations and a longer stay in hospital. A multicentre prospective study would be useful to confirm these findings.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Journal
          Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg Hand Surg
          Scandinavian journal of plastic and reconstructive surgery and hand surgery
          Informa UK Limited
          0284-4311
          0284-4311
          2008
          : 42
          : 3
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Houston Hand House, Houston, Texas, USA. chrishankins501@hotmail.com
          Article
          792729027
          10.1080/02844310802038223
          18470793
          127223db-6fce-40f2-83c6-39a503cc6035
          History

          Comments

          Comment on this article