Management of Fournier’s gangrene during the Covid-19 pandemic era: make a virtue out of necessity

Abstract

Background Fournier’s gangrene (FG) is a necrotizing fasciitis caused by aerobic and anaerobic bacterial infection that involves genitalia and perineum. Males, in their 60 s, are more affected with 1.6 new cases/100.000/year. Main risk factors are diabetes, malignancy, inflammatory bowel disease. FG is a potentially lethal disease with a rapid and progressive involvement of subcutaneous and fascial plane. A multimodal approach with surgical debridement, antibiotic therapy, intensive support care, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is often needed. We present the inpatient management of an FG case during the Covid-19 pandemic period. A narrative review of the Literature searching “Fournier’s gangrene”, “necrotizing fasciitis” on PubMed and Scopus was performed. Case presentation A 60 years old man affected by diabetes mellitus, with ileostomy after colectomy for ulcerative colitis, was admitted to our Emergency Department with fever and acute pain, edema, dyschromia of right hemiscrotum, penis, and perineal region. Computed tomography revealed air-gas content and fluid-edematous thickening of these regions. Fournier’s Gangrene Severity Index was 9. A prompt broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy with Piperacillin/Tazobactam, Imipenem and Daptomycin, surgical debridement of genitalia and perineal region with vital tissue exposure, were performed. Bedside daily surgical wound medications with fibrine debridement, normal saline and povidone-iodine solutions irrigation, iodoform and fatty gauze application, were performed until discharge on the 40th postoperative day. Every 3 days office-based medication with silver dressing, after normal saline and povidone-iodine irrigation and fibrinous tissue debridement, was performed until complete re-epithelialization of the scrotum on the 60th postoperative day. Conclusions FG is burdened by a high mortality rate, up to 30%. In the literature, HBOT could improve wound restoration and disease-specific survival. Unfortunately, in our center, we do not have HBOT. Moreover, one of the pandemic period problems was the patient’s displacement and outpatient hospital management. For all these reasons we decided for a conservative inpatient management. Daily cleaning of the surgical wound allowed to obtain its complete restoration avoiding surgical graft and hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy, without foregoing optimal outcomes.

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“…At present, it is believed that only approximately one-quarter of cases are idiopathic diseases with unknown causes, and more than 75% have definite aetiologies ( 26 , 27 ). As for the infection site, 30%–50% originate from the rectum and anus, 20%–40% originate from the urogenital system, and 20% originate from skin infection ( 28 ). Why is there only “genitalia” but no “perianal” or “perineum” in the top 20 burst words?…”

“…Aerobic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria exist at the same time in patients with FG. When the host has immunodeficiency, a polymicrobial flora are usually involved with a synergic mechanism of aggressiveness ( 28 ). It was reported 54% of case were caused by Polymicrobial infection ( 30 ).…”

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