Clostrdial Gas Gangrene eMedicine Infectious Diseases

Description: Clostridial gas gangrene is a highly lethal necrotizing soft tissue infection of skeletal muscle caused by toxin- and gas-producing Clostridium species. The synonym clostridial myonecrosis better describes both the causative agent and the target tissue. Prior to the advent of antibiotics and mobile army surgical hospitals, as many as 5% of battlefield injuries were complicated by this condition. However, the incidence rate dropped to less than 0.01% during the Vietnam War. Presently, 90% of contaminated wounds demonstrate clostridial organisms, but fewer than 2% develop clostridial myonecrosis. This underscores the importance of host and local wound factors in the development of this process, rather than the mere presence of the organisms in the wound.
Don R Revis Jr, MD 2008