Therapeutic, level IV.

Necrotizing soft tissue infection of the perineum, or Fournier's gangrene (FG), is a morbid and mortal diagnosis. Despite the severity of FG, the optimal definitive wound closure strategy is unknown, as are long-term wound outcomes. A retrospective review was performed over a 3-year period at a single trauma center. Patients were managed according to our institutional approach focusing on primary wound closure and secondary intention healing in residual wounds. Overall 168 patients were included. Complete primary wound closure was accomplished in 39.9 per cent of patients. Patients undergoing primary wound closure were primarily male (89.6 vs 64.4%, P < 0.001), had lower mean sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores (1.70 ± 2.30 vs 2.98 ± 3.36, P = 0.004), more often had perineum-limited FG (67.2 vs 42.6%, P = 0.003), and required fewer debridements (2.40 vs 2.79, P = 0.02). On logistic regression, predictors of primary closure included gender (odds ratio 4.643, 95% confidence interval 1.885–11.437, P = 0.001) and SOFA score (odds ratio 0.834, 95% confidence interval 0.727–0.957, P = 0.01). Wound healing rates increased over time, to an 82.1 per cent wound healing rate without further intervention at greater than six months of follow-up. Wounds healed with secondary intention ranged from 70 to 9520 cm3 and primary closure ranged from 126 to 6912 cm3, whereas wounds requiring skin grafts ranged from 405 to 16,170 cm3. Complete primary wound closure is often achievable in FG patients. Using this standardized approach to FG wound management, even large wounds and wounds undergoing secondary intention healing will often close with long-term wound care and do not require flap creation or early skin grafting.

Background: With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, healthcare workers (HCW) have relied on reusable personal protective equipment (PPE), including respirators and face shields (FSs). The effectiveness of decontamination procedures outside experimental settings is unclear. We examined the prevalence of surface contamination on reusable PPE used by HCWs at a hospital incorporating daily centralized decontamination and post-use wiping by sampling for common pathogens. Method: Samples were collected from HCWs’ CleanSpace Halo respirator face masks (FMs) and FSs at the start of shift, immediately after use, and after cleaning with disinfecting wipes. Samples were analyzed for pathogens using the Applied Biosystems™ TaqPath™ COVID-19 Combo Kit and ThermoFisher TaqMan Array Card. Patient charts were reviewed for clinical correlation. Findings: Of the 89 samples, 51 from FMs and 38 from FSs, none tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, despite 58 being obtained from PPE used in the care of patients with COVID-19, many with recent aerosol-generating procedures. Four samples tested positive (4.5%) for Staphylococcus aureus, two each from FMs and FSs. FMs that tested positive were not worn concurrently with FSs that tested positive. The FM and FS samples testing positive were worn in the care of patients without diagnosed S. aureus infection. No FMs tested positive following wipe-based disinfection, but both positive FS samples were found after disinfection wiping. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Contamination of reusable PPE appears uncommon, especially with SARS-CoV-2, when regular decontamination programs are in place. The rare presence of S. aureus highlights the importance of doffing procedures and hand hygiene by HCW to prevent surface contamination.

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