How does ecthyma gangrenosum differ from ecthyma?
-
| | Fig. 27.10 Ecthyma gangrenosum of the axilla in a neutropenic patient demonstrating massive ulceration. (Courtesy of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center teaching files.) | Ecthyma is caused by β-hemolytic streptococci, while ecthyma gangrenosum is most commonly caused by P. aeruginosa. - Ecthyma is a localized infection that normally occurs in healthy young adults. Ecthyma gangrenosum usually follows septicemia in a neutropenic patient. Less commonly, it follows primary inoculation into the skin.
- Ecthyma responds rapidly to antibiotics, whereas ecthyma gangrenosum has a high mortality.
- Clinically, ecthyma gangrenosum presents as one or more red macules that become edematous and rapidly progress to hemorrhagic bullae. In the late stages, it may ulcerate (Fig. 27-10) or form an eschar surrounded by erythema.
|
