Necrotizing fasciitis caused by the treatment of chronic non-specific back pain

BMC Anesthesiol. 2020 Sep 26;20(1):245. doi: 10.1186/s12871-020-01161-0.

Abstract

Background: Chronic back pain is a multifactorial disease that occurs particularly in adults and has many negative effects on the quality of daily life. Therapeutic strategies are often multimodal and designed for a long-term therapy period. In some cases, one option is joint infiltration or intrathecal injection with local anaesthetics. An adverse effect of this intervention may be necrotic fasciitis, a disease with high mortality and few therapeutic options.

Case presentation: This case shows a 53-year-old female patient who developed necrotic fasciitis after infiltrations of the sacroiliac joint and after epidural-sacral and intrathecal injections.

Conclusion: Thanks to early and aggressive surgical intervention, antibiotic treatment and hyperbaric oxygenation, she survived this serious complication and was able to return to life.

Keywords: Chronic back pain; Hyperbaric oxygenation; Infiltration; Necrotizing fasciitis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anesthetics, Local / administration & dosage*
  • Anesthetics, Local / therapeutic use
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Back Pain / drug therapy*
  • Chronic Pain / drug therapy*
  • Fasciitis, Necrotizing / etiology*
  • Fasciitis, Necrotizing / therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hyperbaric Oxygenation / methods
  • Injections, Spinal / adverse effects*
  • Middle Aged

Substances

  • Anesthetics, Local
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents