Necrotizing soft tissue infections are associated with a high mortality rate. We hypothesize that specific predictors of limb loss and mortality in patients with necrotizing soft tissue infection can be identified on hospital admission.Design: A retrospective cohort study.Setting: A tertiary care center.Patients: Patients with a diagnosis of necrotizing soft tissue infection during a 5-year period (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001) were included. Patients were identified with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision hospital discharge diagnosis codes, and diagnosis was confirmed by medical record review.Interventions: Standard current treatment including early and scheduled repeated debridement, broadspectrum antibiotics, and physiologic and nutritional support was given to all patients.Main Outcome Measures: Limb loss and mortality.Results: One hundred sixty-six patients were identified and included in the study. The overall mortality rate

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Elevated second trimester maternal serum unconjugated estriol is independently associated with a higher rate of spontaneous preterm birth.