What Researchers Did
This review article summarized the current understanding and treatment strategies for severe soft tissue infections.
What They Found
Researchers found that necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs) are severe and rapidly spreading, leading to significant tissue and limb loss. With aggressive surgical and medical care, the mortality rate for NSTIs has decreased from 25-50% to 10-16%. While hyperbaric oxygen (HBOT) and other innovative treatments do not yet have definitive evidence of efficacy, they may be considered for patients at high risk of death.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian patients diagnosed with necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs) require immediate and aggressive treatment, including surgery and antibiotics, to improve their chances of survival and reduce tissue loss. While hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is mentioned as a potential additional treatment, this review indicates it currently lacks definitive evidence for its effectiveness in NSTIs. However, HBOT might be considered by clinicians for patients facing a very high risk of death from these severe infections.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
As a review article, this study summarizes existing knowledge and highlights that definitive evidence for the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen and other innovative strategies for NSTIs is still lacking.