Necrotizing fasciitis: a nursing perspective

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) has been around for many years but recent media attention has brought attention to this potentially fatal disease. This paper examines the most recent descriptions of NF, and describes initial as well as advanced stages of the infection. Treatment of NF is widely agreed upon by physicians in that broad spectrum antibiotics and immediate debridement are crucial to patient outcome. Recent thoughts as to immune system response are briefly explored. The client presented is an extremely unusual case where spontaneous remission occurred after 4 days, and so gives rise to the potential immune system theory.