If you have necrotising fasciitis, a blood test will reveal certain clinical signs that suggest you have a soft tissue infection. However, it is not the only diagnostic tool, with the most effective investigation being surgical exploration.
Blood tests for necrotising fasciitis
To begin with, necrotising fasciitis will cause symptoms such as tissue pain and fever. These are suggestive of some form of infection. To verify this, medical practitioners should carry out further investigations.
One of the first tests that should be performed is a blood test. This can be sent to the laboratory for further analysis. If a patient does have necrotising fasciitis, the analysis will show certain abnormalities that will tell doctors that a soft tissue infection is present.
For instance, the blood results will reveal a raised C Reactive Protein (CRP), something which happens when there is an inflammation inside the body. This inflammatory response will begin in the early stages of the condition. This is useful as necrotising fasciitis can have indistinct symptoms in the early stages, making a diagnosis difficult.
A blood best will also abnormally low levels of sodium. Medically this is called hyponatraemia. This happens when an infection is present.
Surgical exploration to diagnose necrotising fasciitis
However, obtaining the results of a blood test can be slow. Sometimes it will take 24 hours for an analysis to be achieved. This can be too slow where necrotising fasciitis is concerned as it is a fast-moving infection. A diagnosis cannot be delayed as treatment must be carried out before the infection spreads too far.
Therefore rather than waiting for the blood test results, medical practitioners should make the decision to proceed with surgical exploration. This involves cutting open the tissue to assess whether there is any sign of tissue necrosis. If there is, the surgeon can debride the dead tissue there and then.
A surgical exploration is the fastest way to determine whether or not a patient has a necrotising soft tissue infection. The results of the blood test will confirm a diagnosis, and will also help doctors decide what type of antibiotics to administer. Thus blood tests should be taken when a patient is admitted.
Failure to diagnose necrotising fasciitis
If medical practitioners fail to take steps to diagnose necrotising fasciitis in a reasonable amount of time, there may be grounds for a medical compensation claim. For more information on pursuing legal action, please get in touch with us today.
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