Gas gangrene caused by Clostridium perfringens

Gas gangrene caused by *Clostridium perfringens* is a fulminant, life-threatening necrotizing soft-tissue infection predominantly characterized by extensive myonecrosis It primarily targets deep skeletal muscle and subcutaneous tissues, most frequently developing after severe trauma, contaminated open wounds, or surgical procedures, though it may also arise in patients with underlying ischemic vascular disease or diabetes

Gas gangrene caused by *Clostridium perfringens* is a fulminant, life-threatening necrotizing soft-tissue infection predominantly characterized by extensive myonecrosis

It primarily targets deep skeletal muscle and subcutaneous tissues, most frequently developing after severe trauma, contaminated open wounds, or surgical procedures, though it may also arise in patients with underlying ischemic vascular disease or diabetes Pathophysiologically, the anaerobic, spore-forming bacillus *C. perfringens* proliferates rapidly in devitalized tissues and produces destructive exotoxins—chiefly alpha-toxin and perfringolysin O—that cause microvascular thrombosis, widesprea...

It primarily targets deep skeletal muscle and subcutaneous tissues, most frequently developing after severe trauma, contaminated open wounds, or surgical procedures, though it may also arise in patients with underlying ischemic vascular disease or diabetes

Pathophysiologically, the anaerobic, spore-forming bacillus *C. perfringens* proliferates rapidly in devitalized tissues and produces destructive exotoxins—chiefly alpha-toxin and perfringolysin O—that cause microvascular thrombosis, widespread tissue necrosis, and gas accumulation Clinically, this manifests as severe pain disproportionate to examination findings, tense edema, soft-tissue crepitus, hemorrhagic bullae, and a high risk of rapidly escalating septic shock and multiorgan failure