Extract
To The Editor:My colleagues and I reviewed ninety-nine cases of necrotizing fasciitis
that were treated at our institution between July 1989 and June 1995 and noted
a 219% increased prevalence during that six-year period. The mortality rate
was 18% overall (11% during the final three years of the study).Unlike Wong et al. in their study entitled "Necrotizing Fasciitis:
Clinical Presentation, Microbiology, and Determinants of Mortality"
(2003;85:1454-60), my colleagues and I did not find increased mortality in
diabetic patients or in patients who were intravenous drug abusers. We did,
however, find two factors that were significantly related to mortality:
patient age and the presence of a positive blood culture.