Skip to main content
Erschienen in: World Journal of Emergency Surgery 1/2008

Open Access 01.12.2008 | Case report

Perforated diverticulitis presenting as necrotising fasciitis of the leg

verfasst von: Timothy J Underwood, Jeremy Southgate, Robert Talbot, Guy F Nash

Erschienen in: World Journal of Emergency Surgery | Ausgabe 1/2008

download
DOWNLOAD
print
DRUCKEN
insite
SUCHEN

Abstract

Diverticulosis of the colon is a common condition of increasing age. Complications of diverticulitis including stricture, perforation and fistula formation often require surgery. Perforated diverticulitis may rarely present with spreading superficial sepsis. We describe for the first time, to our knowledge, a case of retroperitoneal diverticula perforation presenting as necrotising fasciitis of the leg necessitating hind-quarter amputation.
Hinweise

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.​1186/​1749-7922-3-10) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Competing interests

The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors' contributions

JS, GFN, RT and TJU were responsible for the surgery and ongoing care of the patient in hospital. TJU and GFN conceived of the case report. TJU drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Background

Colonic diverticulosis is a common condition in the Western World and its incidence increases with advancing age [1]. Diverticula of the large bowel are believed to occur at areas of weakness, commonly at the site of entry of blood vessels as a result of increased intraluminal pressure [2]. Complications of diverticulosis include stricture, bleeding, perforation and fistula formation [1]. Perforation as a result of infected diverticulitis often leads to intra-abdominal sepsis and peritonitis requiring emergency surgery [2]. Uncommonly diverticulitis perforates into the anterior abdominal wall or retroperitoneum causing spreading infection that may require massive debridement [3, 4].
Intra-abdominal sepsis may rarely present as soft tissue infection of the thigh and this has been documented as a complication of appendicitis [5]. In one case of appendicitis disarticulation of the hip was required to treat necrotising fasciitis[6]. A literature search has shown there to be no previously documented cases of diverticula perforation presenting in this way. Here we present a case of diverticulitis with retroperitoneal perforation presenting as necrotising fasciitis of the left leg requiring disarticulation of the hip.

Case presentation

A 51 year old man presented to the emergency department with a four day history of a painful, swollen left knee. He had previously been diagnosed with diverticulosis, in another unit, but at the time this was deemed not to require surgery. He had signs of systemic sepsis and was treated with broad spectrum antibiotics. An urgent CT of the abdomen, pelvis and legs showed a grossly enlarged left thigh with gas in all muscle compartments (Fig. 1). He was demonstrated to have gas in the gluteal muscles and gas extending along the left psoas muscle into the retroperitoneum (Fig. 2). In addition there was perinephric inflammation and the kidney was considered as the initial septic focus. A diagnosis of necrotising fasciitis was made and he was transferred to the operating theatre for surgical debridement. He required disarticulation of the left hip and excision of the gluteal muscles and part of the left psoas. A large drain was placed along the remaining psoas muscle into the retroperitoneum to allow drainage of remaining sepsis. The peritoneal cavity was opened at the time of surgery via the flank wound and the proximal sigmoid appeared normal with no evidence of intra-abdominal sepsis. Initial CT had not suggested an intra-abdominal cause of sepsis, therefore a laparotomy was not performed. His antibiotic regimen was tailored to the sensitivities of the Gram positive cocci and Gram negative bacilli cultured from tissue specimens. He underwent further minor debridement at 48 hours. At day 7 faeces appeared in the psoas drain and at formal laparotomy a segment of distal sigmoid colonic diverticulitis that had perforated into the retroperitoneum was resected by Hartmann's procedure. He recovered well enough from this surgery to allow the application of a vacuum dressing at day 17 (Fig. 3). His wound was subsequently managed by the regional plastic surgery service.

Discussion

In the U.S an individual's risk of developing diverticulosis approaches 50% by the age of 60 [1]. Diverticulitis, infection and inflammation as a consequence of diverticula, occurs in 20–30% of patients with diverticulosis [1]. Perforation is a well recognised complication of diverticulitis often requiring emergency surgery. However, necrotising fasciitis as a consequence of perforated diverticulosis is an uncommon but potentially lethal condition requiring prompt surgical intervention [4]. Previous reports have documented the presentation of inta-abdominal sepsis either as a consequence of diverticulitis or acute appendicitis in the retroperitoneal space [3, 5, 6]. We have described for the first time, to our knowledge, a case of perforated sigmoid diverticulitis that led to significant retroperitoneal infection and subsequent tracking of infection via the left psoas into the left thigh, necessitating hip disarticulation.
The patient had been assessed previously for diverticulosis but surgery was not considered at that time. The recent move away from resection for uncomplicated diverticular disease is supported by large series [7, 8] but such septic complications may become more common as a result of this change.
Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.

Acknowledgements

All authors are funded by the National Health Service in the UK.
Open Access This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://​creativecommons.​org/​licenses/​by/​2.​0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Competing interests

The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors' contributions

JS, GFN, RT and TJU were responsible for the surgery and ongoing care of the patient in hospital. TJU and GFN conceived of the case report. TJU drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Anhänge

Authors’ original submitted files for images

Literatur
1.
Zurück zum Zitat Bordeianou L, Hodin R: Controversies in the surgical management of sigmoid diverticulitis. J Gastrointest Surg. 2007, 11 (4): 542-548. 10.1007/s11605-007-0126-y.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed Bordeianou L, Hodin R: Controversies in the surgical management of sigmoid diverticulitis. J Gastrointest Surg. 2007, 11 (4): 542-548. 10.1007/s11605-007-0126-y.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
2.
Zurück zum Zitat Stollman NH, Raskin JB: Diverticular disease of the colon. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1999, 29 (3): 241-252. 10.1097/00004836-199910000-00004.CrossRefPubMed Stollman NH, Raskin JB: Diverticular disease of the colon. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1999, 29 (3): 241-252. 10.1097/00004836-199910000-00004.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Zurück zum Zitat Secil M, Topacoglu H: Retroperitoneal necrotizing fasciitis secondary to colonic diverticulitis. J Emerg Med. 2007 Secil M, Topacoglu H: Retroperitoneal necrotizing fasciitis secondary to colonic diverticulitis. J Emerg Med. 2007
4.
Zurück zum Zitat Mahler CW, Boermeester MA, Busch OR: Acute diverticulitis mimicking necrotizing fasciitis. J Am Coll Surg. 2003, 197 (3): 517-10.1016/S1072-7515(03)00536-2.CrossRefPubMed Mahler CW, Boermeester MA, Busch OR: Acute diverticulitis mimicking necrotizing fasciitis. J Am Coll Surg. 2003, 197 (3): 517-10.1016/S1072-7515(03)00536-2.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Zurück zum Zitat Penninga L, Wettergren A: Perforated appendicitis during near-term pregnancy causing necrotizing fasciitis of the lower extremity: a rare complication of a common disease. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2006, 85 (9): 1150-1151.CrossRefPubMed Penninga L, Wettergren A: Perforated appendicitis during near-term pregnancy causing necrotizing fasciitis of the lower extremity: a rare complication of a common disease. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2006, 85 (9): 1150-1151.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Zurück zum Zitat Jacobs PP, van der Sluis RF, Tack CJ, Wobbes T: Necrotising fasciitis of the lower limb caused by undiagnosed perforated appendicitis, which necessitated disarticulation of the hip. Eur J Surg. 1993, 159 (5): 307-308.PubMed Jacobs PP, van der Sluis RF, Tack CJ, Wobbes T: Necrotising fasciitis of the lower limb caused by undiagnosed perforated appendicitis, which necessitated disarticulation of the hip. Eur J Surg. 1993, 159 (5): 307-308.PubMed
7.
Zurück zum Zitat Alexander J, Karl RC, Skinner DB: Results of changing trends in the surgical management of complications of diverticular disease. Surgery. 1983, 94 (4): 683-690.PubMed Alexander J, Karl RC, Skinner DB: Results of changing trends in the surgical management of complications of diverticular disease. Surgery. 1983, 94 (4): 683-690.PubMed
8.
Zurück zum Zitat Makela J, Vuolio S, Kiviniemi H, Laitinen S: Natural history of diverticular disease: when to operate?. Dis Colon Rectum. 1998, 41 (12): 1523-1528. 10.1007/BF02237300.CrossRefPubMed Makela J, Vuolio S, Kiviniemi H, Laitinen S: Natural history of diverticular disease: when to operate?. Dis Colon Rectum. 1998, 41 (12): 1523-1528. 10.1007/BF02237300.CrossRefPubMed
Metadaten
Titel
Perforated diverticulitis presenting as necrotising fasciitis of the leg
verfasst von
Timothy J Underwood
Jeremy Southgate
Robert Talbot
Guy F Nash
Publikationsdatum
01.12.2008
Verlag
BioMed Central
Erschienen in
World Journal of Emergency Surgery / Ausgabe 1/2008
Elektronische ISSN: 1749-7922
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1749-7922-3-10

Weitere Artikel der Ausgabe 1/2008

World Journal of Emergency Surgery 1/2008 Zur Ausgabe