Diagnosing Necrotizing Fasciitis Using Procalcitonin and a Laboratory Risk Indicator: Brief Overview

Necrotizing fasciitis is a progressive inflammatory disease that requires an early diagnosis to avoid limb salvage and other deadly manifestations. The current protocol is the microbiological and histopathological sampling of the tissue. Once the diagnosis is made, it should be managed with antimicrobial therapy, debridement, and surgical interventions. Such interventions can be invasive and increase the time to treat, which may increase morbidity. Our article discusses procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, and other markers, such as "pain out of proportion," lactate, creatinine, and creatine kinase, to make a quicker diagnosis before proceeding with invasive procedures. We discussed a similar non-invasive approach called the "Laboratory Risk Indicator for Necrotizing Fasciitis" scoring system that can aid in the early diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis, which can prompt rapid empiric therapy, reducing the chances of morbidity. This scoring system comprises C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, hemoglobin level, creatinine, sodium, and glucose. Such non-invasive, bedside, and quick tests can help in reducing the time required to make the diagnosis and can affect the course of the disease, hence, improving patient outcomes.