Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34998403›Full record

ArticleWorld journal of emergency surgery : WJES2022

Differentiating necrotizing soft tissue infections from cellulitis by soft tissue infectious fluid analysis: a pilot study.

Kai-Hsiang Wu, Po-Han Wu, Chih-Yao Chang, Yen-Ting Kuo, Kuang-Yu Hsiao, Cheng-Ting Hsiao, Shang-Kai Hung, Chia-Peng Chang

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in World journal of emergency surgery : WJES, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Predicting limb amputation in trauma-related necrotizing fasciitis of the extremities: insights from a 10-year cohort.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Machine Learning Approach to ClassifyInfection and drug resistance · 2024
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kai-Hsiang WuDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 6, W. Sec., Jiapu Rd., Puzih City, 613, Chiayi County, Taiwan.
Po-Han WuDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 6, W. Sec., Jiapu Rd., Puzih City, 613, Chiayi County, Taiwan.
Chih-Yao ChangDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 6, W. Sec., Jiapu Rd., Puzih City, 613, Chiayi County, Taiwan.
Yen-Ting KuoDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 6, W. Sec., Jiapu Rd., Puzih City, 613, Chiayi County, Taiwan.
Kuang-Yu HsiaoDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 6, W. Sec., Jiapu Rd., Puzih City, 613, Chiayi County, Taiwan.
Cheng-Ting HsiaoDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 6, W. Sec., Jiapu Rd., Puzih City, 613, Chiayi County, Taiwan.
Shang-Kai HungDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No.5, Fuxing St., Guishan Dist., Taoyuan City, 333, Taiwan.
Chia-Peng ChangDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, No. 6, W. Sec., Jiapu Rd., Puzih City, 613, Chiayi County, Taiwan. giovanni850730@gmail.com.
Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital · TWChang Gung Memorial Hospital · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe conducted this study to evaluate the characteristics of the infectious fluid in soft tissue infection and investigate the utility of the biochemical tests and Gram stain smear of the infectious fluid in distinguishing necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) from cellulitis.

methodsThis retrospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Taiwan. From April 2019 to October 2020, patients who were clinically suspected of NSTI with infectious fluid accumulation along the deep fascia and received successful ultrasound-guided aspiration were enrolled. Based on the final discharge diagnosis, the patients were divided into NSTI group, which was supported by the surgical pathology report, or cellulitis group. The t test method and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the difference between two groups. The receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the discriminating ability.

resultsTotal twenty-five patients were enrolled, with 13 patients in NSTI group and 12 patients in cellulitis group. The statistical analysis showed lactate in fluid (AUC = 0.937) and LDH in fluid (AUC = 0.929) had outstanding discrimination. The optimal cut-off value of fluid in lactate was 69.6 mg/dL with corresponding sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 76.9%. The optimal cut-off value of fluid in LDH was 566 U/L with corresponding sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 92.3%. In addition, albumin in fluid (AUC = 0.821), TP in fluid (AUC = 0.878) and pH in fluid (AUC = 0.858) also had excellent diagnostic accuracy for NSTI. The Gram stain smear revealed 50% bacteria present in NSTI group and all the following infectious fluid culture showed bacteria growth.

conclusionsThe analysis of infectious fluid along the deep fascia might provide high diagnostic accuracy to differentiate NSTI from cellulitis.

Indexed as

Soft Tissue InfectionsCellulitisHumansPilot ProjectsRetrospective StudiesTaiwanCellulitisNecrotizing soft tissue infectionSoft tissue infectious fluid

Identifiers

PMID34998403
PMCPMC8742947
OpenAlexW4206271849

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.