Diagnosis and Management of Severe Water-Related Skin and Soft Tissue Sepsis: A Summative Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are common presentations in the emergency department. However, this is less common after contact with contaminated saltwater or freshwater. This review presents the diagnosis and management of water-related soft tissue sepsis in this vulnerable and difficult-to-treat subgroup of necrotizing soft tissue sepsis. METHODS: A summative literature overview is presented regarding bacterial and fungal SSTI after contact with contaminated water, with practical diagnostic and management aspects. RESULTS: The literature indicates that these wounds and infections remain difficult to treat. An approach using appropriate diagnostic tools with both medical and surgical management strategies is provided. CONCLUSIONS: SSTIs due to water contamination of wounds involve unusual organisms with unusual resistance patterns, and require a nuanced and directed diagnostic approach with an adaptation of the usual antibiotic or antifungal selection to achieve a successful cure, along with aggressive debridement and wound care.

Traumatic injury to the great vessels of the chest.

This manuscript undertakes a brief focussed literature review of penetrating and blunt injury to the great vessels of the mediastinum (excluding iatrogenic vessel injury) and provides personal insights to the management of mediastinal vascular injury. It is not intended as a comprehensive or systematic review. Included are the aorta and its main branches, the superior vena-cava and its main tributaries (brachiocephalic veins) along with the less-appreciated, but equally serious, injuries to the pulmonary artery or vein and the Azygous or hemi-azygous veins. An overview of the epidemiology of these injuries is provided. The gross anatomy is briefly reviewed from the perspective of the surgeon., Practical diagnostic approaches, using an algorithm, operative access and repair options, along with endovascular considerations are briefly highlighted. The detail of the operative procedures will highlight practical points for concern and local tips-and-tricks. Practical take-home messages are provided from the personal perspective of the authors. This overview does not cover intercostal vessel or internal thoracic artery injury, both of which may cause significant bleeding and cardiac tamponade in the case of the latter vessel, but technically are outside the central mediastinum and are branches of great vessels and are therefore not included.