Gas Gangrene
To view the entire topic, please log in or purchase a subscription.
Official website of the Johns Hopkins Antibiotic (ABX), HIV, Diabetes, and Psychiatry Guides, powered by Unbound Medicine. Johns Hopkins Guide App for iOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android included. Explore these free sample topics:
-- The first section of this topic is shown below --
PATHOGENS
Common clostridial species causing gas gangrene:
- Clostridium perfringens
- Most commonly identified organism.
- Produces > 20 exotoxins, including lethal Alpha and Beta toxins that cause necrosis and hemolysis.
- Clostridium novyi
- Clostridium septicum
- Clostridium histolyticum
- Clostridium sordellii (seen with toxic shock after childbirth, users of contaminated heroin injections and patients with malignancy)
- Review of spontaneous C. sordelli-associated gas gangrene found that known or occult malignancy was seen in 71% of the 94 patients in the literature; overall mortality was 67%[3].
-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please log in or purchase a subscription --
PATHOGENS
Common clostridial species causing gas gangrene:
- Clostridium perfringens
- Most commonly identified organism.
- Produces > 20 exotoxins, including lethal Alpha and Beta toxins that cause necrosis and hemolysis.
- Clostridium novyi
- Clostridium septicum
- Clostridium histolyticum
- Clostridium sordellii (seen with toxic shock after childbirth, users of contaminated heroin injections and patients with malignancy)
- Review of spontaneous C. sordelli-associated gas gangrene found that known or occult malignancy was seen in 71% of the 94 patients in the literature; overall mortality was 67%[3].
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.