Journal of Surgery

Gas Gangrene: Case Presentation and Literature Data

Abstract

Bianca Hanganu, Marius Neagu, Irina Manoilescu, Andreea Velnic, Beatrice Gabriela Ioan

Although a disease with a particularly historical, war-related implication, gas gangrene still retains its importance in pathology through its highly severe prognosis and rapid death in the absence of immediate treatment. The most common occurrences of the infection in times of peace are traffic accidents and natural disasters, but this can also occur in a non-traumatic context, in carcinomas and digestive tract ulcers or diabetes. The most commonly cited etiological agent is Clostridium perfringens, but other anaerobic germs as well as various aero-anaerobic associations may be responsible for the appearance of gangrene. The accumulation of gas bubbles through the action of etiological agents, highlighted by the presence of crevices or radiological examinations, is the hallmark of this condition. In this paper, the authors present the case of a 26-year-old man who died as a result of the gas gangrene with a rapid evolution (60 hours), which occurred in the progress of a soil telluric wound in the right thigh despite doctors’ efforts. The authors emphasize the importance of suspicion of the possibility of the occurrence of gangrene in wounds contaminated with vegetal remains or soil, on the one hand because the pathognomonic sign appears at an advanced stage of the infection and on the other hand because the prophylactic, surgical and medicinal treatment together with the resuscitation measures may be life-saving when applied in a timely manner.