Necrotizing soft tissue infection of the right anterolateral abdominal wall caused by a ruptured gangrenous appendix in an elderly diabetic patient

Necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs) of the abdominal wall usually occur when either a common superficial soft tissue infection progresses down to, or an injury (e.g. knife stab) penetrates, the investing muscle fascia, or an intra-abdominal infection spreads directly to the muscle layers of the abdominal wall. These infections are severe and associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We present an 83-year-old female diabetic patient who was admitted to the surgical emergency department complaining of right abdominal pain after a fall to the floor. She had previously received oral antibiotics for a minor superficial skin infection attributed to her subcutaneous use of insulin. On admission she exhibited signs of agitation and dyspnoea with hypotension and tachycardia (systolic arterial pressure 90mmHg, heart rate >110 bpm, oxygen saturation 88%). Furthermore, she had a tender right abdomen but without any demonstrable pathology on her skin or crepitus. Arterial blood gases revealed metabolic acidosis and hypoxaemia. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated signs of infection of the entire right anterior abdominal wall and the LRINEC score was calculated to be 13. Subsequent operative aggressive necrosectomy of all the involved layers of the right anterolateral abdominal wall sparing the peritoneum was undertaken. Unfortunately, the patient died the next day due to multiple organ failure.