Gas gangrene

Abstract

A 66-year-old woman presented with left lower abdominal pain and paresthesias of the left thigh of 6 hours duration. 10 years previously she had undergone massive abdominal irradiation for retroperitoneal lymphoma. 3 days prior to admission she underwent rectal biopsy as part of a work-up for suspected inflammatory bowel disease. Within a few hours she developed fulminating gas gangrene of the left thigh and lower abdomen. In spite of aggressive surgical debridement she died 12 hours after admission. The incidence of gas gangrene is decreasing, but the mortality is still high. The diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion, especially in immunodepressed patients after invasive procedures or even minor trauma.