METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using retrospective data of patients treated for NF collected from two tertiary care hospitals (Hospital Seremban and Hospital Ampang) in Central Malaysia. A total of 420 NF patients were identified from the five years of retrospective data obtained from the two hospitals.
RESULTS: The top three empirical antibiotics prescribed are ampicillin + sulbactam (n = 258; 61.4%), clindamycin (n = 55; 13.1%) and ceftazidime (n = 41; 9.8%). The selection of the antibiotic significantly impacts the outcome of NF. The top three causative pathogens for NF are Streptococcus spp. (n = 79; 18.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 61; 14.5%) and Staphylococcus spp. (n = 49; 11.7%). The patients who received antibiotics had 0.779 times lower chances of being amputated. Patients with a lower laboratory risk indicator for necrotizing fasciitis (LRINEC) score had 0.934 times lower chances of being amputated.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the most common empirical antibiotic prescribed was ampicillin + sulbactam followed by clindamycin and ceftazidime. The antibiotics prescribed lower the risk of having an amputation and, hence, a better prognosis of the disease. Broad-spectrum empirical antibiotics following surgical debridement reduce the mortality rate of NF.