Gangrene
Approach
- Expose limb
- Inspection
- Appearance of gangrene, check between toes
- Wet (complicated by infection) / dry
- Skin blistering
- Line of demarcation between healthy and dead tissue
- Palpation
- Peripheral pulses
- Check temperature differences
- Percussion
- Auscultation
Causes of gangrene
Irreversible tissue necrosis due to
- DM
- Emboli / thrombi: mesenteric infarction giving rise to "trash foot"
- Raynauld's
- Buerger's disease
- Ergot poisioning
- Vessel injury
Fournier's gangrene
- Rare necrotising subcutaneous infection involving scrotum, penis and perineum
- Scrotum red and swollen with crepitus on palpation due to dermal gangrene
- Organisms responsible - coliforms and anaerobes (clostrium)
