Gas Gangrene following Intramuscular Injection of Vitamin B-Complex: Report of a Fatal Case

Extensive clostridial myonecrosis after gluteal intramuscular injection in immunocompromised patient treated with surgical debridement and negative-pressure wound therapy

Gas gangrene is infectious disease caused by Clostridium perfringens infection.

We are presenting extremely rare case of gluteal clostridial myonecrosis after intramuscular injection of diclofenac in immunocompromised young patient on a long-standing corticosteroid therapy presented with sepsis and initially absent clinical signs of severe anaerobic infection. After delayed diagnosis, she was treated with aggressive surgical removal of necrosed tissue and targeted antibiotic therapy which led to a rapid improvement allowing application of a negative-pressure wound therapy device with favorable outcome.

This report shows the importance of timely diagnosis with pitfalls of imaging. It confirms that surgical debridement along with specific antibiotic therapy is the mainstay of treatment, but also promotes negative-pressure wound therapy which has proved convenient for accelerated closure of large incisions with tissue loss without any adverse effects or the need for complex reconstructive procedures.

Iatrogenic non-clostridial gas gangrene - a case report

Skin and soft tissue infections of the lower limbs are quite common and can at times progress rapidly to become both limb and life-threatening infections. Muscular infections usually occur in areas of the body that have been compromised or injured by a foreign body, trauma, ischaemia, injection of illicit drugs, malignancy or surgery. Gas gangrene is one such limb-threatening infection. The gas-forming infection can be clostridial or non-clostridial. Clostridia are the main causative organism of the gas gangrene. Non-clostridial gas gangrene is a rare condition and is known to be associated with high mortality. Here, we report one such rare case where a middle-aged man succumbed to non-clostridial gas gangrene after he was administered an intramuscular injection. The case was registered as a suspicious death by the police and the body was subjected to medico legal autopsy.

Non-mechanical traumatic gas gangrene: forgotten but not gone

We report a case of gas gangrene (GG) in a non-diabetic HIV seronegative man who died within 60 hours following an intramuscular injection in rural India. The occurrence of GG after intramuscular injection is rare and only a few cases have been reported in the published literature.