Definition
Fournier’s gangrene (FG) is an infectious, rapidly progressive necrotizing fasciitis which is considered a urological emergency for its life-threatening nature. It affects small subcutaneous vessels, with vascular thrombosis leading to tissue necrosis. It was first described by Baurienne in 1764 and later named by the parisien venereologist Jean Alfred Fournier in 1883 (Wróblewska et al. 2014; Yılmazlar et al. 2014; Voelzke and Hagedorn 2018; Smith et al. 1998)
Clinical Features
Incidence
Fournier’s gangrene is relatively rare, with an overall incidence that ranges from 1.6 to 3.3 /100000 males (Wróblewska et al. 2014).
Age
It is more frequent in the adult population (Wróblewska et al. 2014; Yılmazlar et al. 2014; Voelzke and Hagedorn 2018; Üreyen et al. 2017; Smith et al. 1998), but sporadic cases are reported also in children (Wróblewska et al. 2014).
Sex
It occurs more frequently in men than in women, with a male–female ratio of 10:1, both for the better drainage of the...
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Smith, G. L., Bunker, C. B., & Dinneen, M. D. (1998). Fournier’s gangrene. British Journal of Urology, 81(3), 347–355.
Üreyen, O., Acar, A., Gökçelli, U., Atahan, M. K., & İlhan, E. (2017). Usefulness of FGSI and UFGSI scoring systems for predicting mortality in patients with Fournier’s gangrene: A multicenter study. Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Dergisi, 23(5), 389–394.
Voelzke, B. B., & Hagedorn, J. C. (2018). Presentation and diagnosis of Fournier gangrene. Urology, 114, 8–13.
Wróblewska, M., Kuzaka, B., Borkowski, T., Kuzaka, P., Kawecki, D., & Radziszewski, P. (2014). Fournier’s gangrene – current concepts. Polish Journal of Microbiology, 63(3), 267–273.
Yılmazlar, T., Işık, Ö., Öztürk, E., Özer, A., Gülcü, B., & Ercan, İ. (2014). Fournier’s gangrene: Review of 120 patients and predictors of mortality. Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Dergisi, 20(5), 333–337.
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Taverna, C., Franchi, A. (2020). Fournier’s Gangrene. In: Raspollini, M.R., Lopez-Beltran, A. (eds) Uropathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41894-6_4816
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41894-6_4816
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