Necrotizing Fasciitis of the Chest Wall Complicating Acupuncture

ABSTRACT

A 20-year-old man developed necrotizing fasciitis of the left chest wall complicating acupuncture. Necrotizing fasciitis is a highly morbid soft tissue infection that rarely involves the upper torso. In the past, there has been few report on necrotizing fasciitis complicating acupunture in the English literature (based on a MEDLINE search covering 1966 to 2005). We present this extremely unusual case of a patient after taking acupuncture who survived severe necrotizing fasciitis of the chest wall following wide debridement of the necrotic tissue and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy.